To Excel

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TO EXCEL

2 Cor 8:4-7

  5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

NIV

As we continue with this long dissertation that takes up the whole of this chapter, or portion of this letter, we find another tidbit of truth that we can consider being something that should be part of our lives. First, we should note the giving of the Macedonians was considered by Paul as an act of grace. He is also urging the Corinthian church to act in the same manner by also giving graciously. However, he also makes sure to encourage them and, in some manner, praise them. He says they excel in everything, which is made up of faith, their speech, knowledge, complete earnestness, and love. It seems those four areas of their lives are everything, except the part of giving, which he says should be included in "the everything" they excel in. In looking at the four Greek words of these four areas, they fit nicely with this translation, so let’s explore how they should be part of our lives. First, we have faith. Do we excel in our faith? Do we excel in our moral conviction, in our believing and trusting in God, and do we live accordingly? That is how much of our life do we trust God for and how much of our life do we trust in ourselves for. Certainly, we trust or depend on God for our salvation, but do we work as though as if it depends on us. The second area of life we should find within is our speech. How do we talk and what do we talk about? What manner of words do we use and especially in our responses to others? We have to remember, Jesus said that it is what comes out of our mouth that defiles us, not what we eat or drink and that means our speech. Words are important and they define who we are. Sure, we talk about all sorts of subjects, sports, weather, travels, experiences, and many other things. That is just part of being human, but in our daily encounters, do we refrain from words that hurt, or impair a relationship with have with someone. Knowledge is another area that means we must always be in pursuit of learning more. When can we say that we know enough? How can we excel in knowledge if we are not becoming knowledgeable and that must be in the word of God? What good is worldly knowledge? It may provide, because of education, the knowledge that allows us to obtain some area of work to produce an income to live comfortably on. But all that will pass away, but the “word” will remain. We remember that Jesus said that apart from Him we can do nothing, so it is by the word of God, but our knowledge of the word of God that we truly learn and have life. This word earnestness is one that the Greek may lend more to being seen as diligent. That is we cannot be lazy in our living as Christian, or Christ-followers. We must be diligent in the way we live, active, pursuing living for Christ. This must mean that we simply cannot go through life doing that which life affords and Christianity only being part of our life. What seems right is that first and foremost we are believers, followers of Jesus, and that means we diligently follow and live accordingly with the guidance of the Spirit, which implies every aspect of our lives, where we live, work, worship, play, etc. That last is love. We need to excel in love and to explore that, we would need a book, not simply these short thoughts. Nevertheless, all the aspects of life need to be surrounded by love. First, for our love for God, and then for our love for others, and that we should excel in.