As God Wills: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, especially vs. 5: "...they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God."
When St. Paul wrote Second Corinthians, he was completing a collection for famine relief on behalf of the Faithful of the churches in Judea. In this letter, the Apostle extols the giving of the people of the churches in Macedonia as an example (vs. 1) to encourage the Corinthians - so they would have their offering ready for Titus (2 Cor 8:6). Let us observe what was exemplary in the giving of the Macedonian churches, that their actions may open the same "grace of God" for us that was bestowed on the Macedonians (2 Cor. 8:1).
St. Paul not only tells us that the Macedonians gave abundantly, with liberality (vs. 2), but also he places their generosity like a diamond in a solitaire-setting by calling attention to the basic conditions out of which they gave: they were living through tangible "affliction" and they were "rock-bottom" poor (vs. 2). The contrast between their circumstance and their giving was marked: abundant giving came from an impoverished community, but that is not all. Read on!
Knowing that everything in the Christian life should be motivated from a pure heart illumined by the light of the Gospel, the Apostle hastens to add that the Macedonians gave from "the abundance of their joy" (vs. 2). The breath-taking aspect of their giving is that they gave joyfully in the midst of trials and difficulties. The Macedonians so embraced the Gospel, so shared in the sufferings of Christ, that they knew their own "affliction" as an opportunity to participate in the Lord's redemptive work. Thereby they had an "abundance of...joy" (vs. 2). Here were hearts that did not ask, "How much can I afford?" but exclaimed, "What a joy to share in the sufferings of the Lord Who has been so compassionate toward us unworthy as we are!"
The Apostle next points to the fact that the Macedonians "gave beyond their ability" (vs. 3). While this news might be deduced from his early remarks, he states it explicitly. Further, he connects what he has told us in verse 2 with new information: "they were freely willing" (vs. 3).
Often pressures are applied to donors to give: appealing to obligation, stirring up guilt, using position or implied benefit, and many other such methods. The Apostle had lived in Macedonia with those poor brethren. He knew their material conditions. He only informed them of the offering, and they gave freely beyond their ability.
There is another surprise: they implored the Apostle "with much urgency" to take their gift and "the fellowship of the ministering to the saints" (vs. 4). Note how St. Paul calls attention to what was happening within their hearts as donors. One can almost hear their words through his description: "We are one in fellowship with those suffering hunger and yearn to minister to their needs as our privilege, our joy." They manifest a delight of the sort which one has when helping a loved one. Clearly, their delight reflects the depth of the Gospel in their hearts.
St. Paul concludes with a final insight into the giving of the Macedonian Christians: as a Pastor concerned most of all for his people's spiritual health, he was greatly attentive to the condition of their hearts and souls in their giving. He notes that as the churches of Macedonia sent aid they fully met his desires for their giving: "...as we had hoped." However, it is what he adds that we should give special note: "but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God" (vs. 5). When requests for donations are presented to us, especially needs that appeal to our hearts, we incline immediately to give, and usually to do so generously. Not so the Macedonians. First, they sought direction from the Lord, even when it was His Apostle who was asking. They began with prayer to the Lord and were led as the Lord directed them.
Illumine our hearts, O Master Who loveth mankind, with the pure light of Thy Gospel.