1. The Early Church joyfully and generously gave despite their being poor. Generosity in the midst of poverty! Though being poor is often the reason why many of God’s people hold on to what they have and excuse
themselves from giving, we ought to realize that it is possible for one to be poor and still be generous in giving.
2. The Early Church willingly gave as much as they were able. Generosity is best measured not by the sum of what was given but by the sacrifice that comes with it. The Macedonian Christians were willing to forego of that little that they had for the sake of others, trusting the Lord to provide for them.
3. The Early Church was determined to give to help meet the needs of others. Generosity comes from a sincere and a pure desire of the heart to give. When you have that genuine concern for the brethren, as constrained by the love of Christ, you will naturally want to give and to give generously.
4. The Early Church first gave their own selves to the Lord. Learn that he that does not totally yield himself to the Lord will neither yield his possessions to Him. But he that joyfully gives himself will keep back nothing that the Lord requires from him. And it is only when we give ourselves wholly to God that we are able to sincerely give ourselves and our possessions to others.
5. The Early Church generously gave to support the work of the Lord. Generosity knows no boundaries. The church at Philippi generously gave to the poor brethren in Jerusalem and went out of their way to send Epaphroditus to bring their gift to Paul who was then inside the cold prison in Rome. This is far beyond today’s “Out of sight, out of mind” attitude pertaining to the manner of giving to support the workers of the Gospel in missions.
Learning of the generosity of the early church, it would be well to examine ourselves. Have we been generous in our giving?
Generosity is a wonderful blessing, which when acquired, could lead to the receiving of other blessings. “After all, God can give you everything that you need, so that you may always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people.” (2 Corinthians 9:8, J.B. Philips).
Remember, God loves a cheerful giver! (REGGOR BARAZON GALARPE)