HOW THE MACEDONIANS RESPONDED

The Macedonian responded with a generous gift to alleviate the suffering of others. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul mentioned his plan to collect funds for the needy saints in Jerusalem. We don't know the exact nature of the Jerusalem need, but some of the brothers and sisters in the Jerusalem church were facing economic peril. Paul encouraged people throughout the Roman Empire to band together in a relief effort.

Perhaps he didn't even ask Macedonia to give. Their poverty was obvious. Poor or not, the Macedonians were not to be denied. In verse 4, Paul said, "they pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints."

Paul was amazed. He said in verse 3, "For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability."

What motivated their generosity? Verse 5 is a crucial verse in this context.

And they did this not as we expected. They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to us in keeping with God's will.

Their value system ran contrary to the values of those who lived around them. They lived in a world much like ours, a world in which people are careful, cautious and self-protective. They lived in a world where people operate on the basis of what they can see, a world which it would have been considered adventurous to launch out on the basis of mathematical probabilities.

By "this world" standards, the Macedonians were dumb, reckless, imprudent and irresponsible. They didn't live by "this world" standards. Instead, they believed in a big God who could take care of their needs. They gave themselves to him.

How did they get to be so full of faith, so trusting, so generous, so sacrificial. Did they attend a workshop on stewardship? Not likely. Did they respond to a cleverly written article in the September issue of The Macedonian Call. Hardly. Did Titus preach a fiery sermon on "The Benefits of Christian Giving?" You know it didn't happen that way.

The text offers some insight to their motivation. Paul began this discussion in verse 1 by saying, "And now brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonians." Have we changed subjects here? We have been talking about the way people deal with their troubles. We've been talking about poverty. Now we are talking about grace.

In this chapter he used the word "grace" four times in the NIV (seven in the Greek). These people were generous because they understood what grace means.

Some people think that too much emphasis on grace will result in lax behavior. If there was ever a convincing refutation to that claim, it would be in the example of the Macedonians.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

That's what the Macedonian did. Let's turn our attention from the what to the so what. How does that example of the Macedonians apply to us? In Euro-American society, it is doubtful that we will feel stress at the same level as that experienced by the Macedonians. We may have money problems, but we're probably not destitute. We may be misunderstood, perhaps even ostracized and criticized, but we're not likely to suffer arrest and imprisonment as a consequence of our faith. Most of us have never been beaten. We all have trouble in our lives. There's no such thing as life without trouble. We are all subject to crisis, trial and tragedy.

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