You’re probably thinking it’s not even Halloween or Thanksgiving and we’re already thinking about Christmas. But don’t worry my friend, my Christmas tree isn’t up just yet!
If you read my previous post, you know how dear and near Puerto Rico is to my heart and you may have also learned of this overwhelming impotence deeply consuming my soul when exposed to the images of the devastation in the island. I had been praying for practical ways to contribute to their needs and thanks to a treasured friend of mine, Alex from The Mama Bar, I have been given an opportunity to join an incredible cause as she partners with Calvary Chapel Puerto Rico to supply children with Christmas gifts this year. It is my pleasure to share with you this wonderful project that will bless numerous children in Puerto Rico.
Here’s a little bit of information about Puerto Rico Christmas Project and how you can help us:
Our desire is to provide a bit of joy to the children in Puerto Rico through the giving of Christmas shoe boxes full of toys, school supplies and hygiene items.
Our goal is to provide enough boxes to distribute to a local orphanage as well as to some local low income communities with which Calvary Chapel Puerto Rico has a working relationship. However, the staff at Calvary Chapel Puerto Rico have said that every day they are meeting more and more families who have lost everything: home, furniture, clothes, etc.
(Please Click Here if you’d like to learn more about it and donate).
The number of children we bless will be determined by YOUR contributions. Any amount is appreciated and 100% will go towards all the items, packaging, shipping, and distribution fees of all the boxes. When we say any amount is appreciated, we mean it. We understand one of the most expensive seasons of the year is on its way to us and we know how difficult it is to provide a memorable Christmas for our own families.
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia: During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I can testify that, according to their ability and even beyond their ability, of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints, and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God’s will.
-2 Corinthians 8:1-5
I understand.
As a stay-at-home mom and living in a family of one income, there’s very little I can do or even give without throwing off our budget. But as I read through 2 Corinthians 8, I was quickly convicted by the generosity of the destitute Christians in Macedonia and how their lack of resources didn’t stop them from blessing the impoverished city of Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). They gave “according to their ability” and “beyond their ability,” meaning their gracious gift didn’t match larger contributions others may have made (according to their ability), but they gave everything they could give in proportion to all they had (beyond their ability). Similarly to the Macedonian Christians, the account of the widow in Luke 21:1-4, where Jesus sensationally claimed she had contributed more than all the others because “she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
According to the passage of 2 Corinthians quoted above, the Macedonians were the ones actually begging Paul to accept their gift. However, their example wasn’t just the generosity they so freely exercised, “instead they gave themselves first to the Lord.” This is really why Paul became so impressed by them…
Now as you excel in everything—in faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us—excel also in this act of grace. I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving advice because it is profitable for you, who began last year not only to do something but also to want to do it.
-2 Corinthians 8:7-10
Paul repeatedly calls this offering an “act of grace,” or charis in its Greek.
This means it answers the what, the how, and why of giving: GRACE.
The “What”
When we practice the muscle of giving, we are “working out” God’s abounding grace in us. Our ability to “exercise” this plan originates from God Himself and is a free gift from above. (Sorry for the workout analogies… I’ll stop…)
Let’s face it, I disdain exercising but just as working out doesn’t come naturally, the same applies to giving. Giving isn’t an inherent practice, but a learned one.
Ask my 2 year old!
Whether we save for a decent vacation, collect enough money to pay off a debt, or simply make it day to day with bills and groceries, giving an offering is usually the last priority in our minds. Perhaps we give when we have leftover money at the end of the month. I know that’s usually how I thought: if we have leftover money, then we can give and be generous. And let’s face it, it is a miracle to have leftover money and it seldom happens in our family! Recently, I was taught to budget my giving like we budget our other payments. Truth is, there’s something holy about giving away something essential to you, whether that is money, time, or a talent, in order to benefit someone else’s well-being.
Giving is an act of grace when it costs us something.
The “How”
Our giving should resemble how Christ gave Himself for us on the cross: freely and generously. When God gives out of grace, the main motivation for His giving is in Him, not solely based on the one who is receiving the gift. Similarly, we give to ultimately bring glory to His name and accredit Him for all He’s done for us so we can do for others. He’s blessed us so we can bless others… in His Name.
Giving is an act of grace when we don’t do it to gain attention and credit, but when we do it to honor what Christ did on the cross for us.
Jesus Himself explains how we should give in the beginning of Matthew 6:
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
-Matthew 6:1-4
The “Why”
This one is the easiest one to talk about yet the most difficult to apply.
Why must we give?
LOVE.
This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.
-1 John 3:16-18
Giving is an act of GRACE when it’s driven by LOVE for God and COMPASSION toward His creation.
The book of 2 Corinthians is actually an open rebuke to a wealthy Corinth in hopes to exhort them to demonstrate “proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you.” (v.24)
It isn’t the first time the Corinthians are lectured on acting out their love for others; however it wasn’t so much about the act of giving, but the motive behind the action he was most concerned about.
The famous and reputable 1 Corinthians 13, quoted in many weddings and inspirational literature, is actually directed to Corinth and the lack of their love.
And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
-1 Corinthians 13:3
God was clearly not at the center of their giving, hence, they were quick to back out of their original commitment to give. Paul simply hoped for this church to follow through with their word and to give generously from the heart without feeling pressured or obligated to do so. Unlike Jerusalem and Macedonia, Corinth was known as a luxurious hub conveniently located by the water and it highly benefited from its ports for trade and commerce. Needless to say, they can easily afford to give some of their resources away, yet their reluctance to cooperate disillusioned Paul and he certainly wasn’t shy to express that.
At the present time your surplus is available for their need, so that their abundance may in turn meet your need, in order that there may be equality. As it is written: The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little.
-2 Corinthians 8:14-15
Finally, my hope for you isn’t for you to blindly give money just so you can say you did. Puerto Rico definitely needs our help and I pray that as time goes by, we don’t forget about their plight.
With that said, there are countless of other causes we can contribute to and also need our utmost attention. Find a cause you believe in, Matthew 6:21 reminds us “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Ask yourself where your heart is. When you watch the news and your heart breaks over what you see, where is God leading you to give?
JJ Watt plays professional football for the Houston Texans and when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, he opened a Go Fund Me and ended up raising over $27 million, surpassing his original goal of $200,000! He realized it wasn’t about him giving all his money and looking like the hero, but allowing others to join him in the very thing that overcame his heart while proving generosity is, in fact, contagious.
As evidence that no amount $$$ matters, over 160,000 people contributed and the range of the donations went from $5 to $5 million.
Just like JJ’s heart is with Houston, mine remains with Puerto Rico.
So whether you’d like to help us send Christmas gifts to Puerto Rican children or there’s an organization or cause that has captured your attention, I pray you have the love and discipline of the Macedonian church and the conviction of Paul for the Corinthians to give their gifts with purity of intention and motivation.
Keep in mind that we’d love to ship the boxes out by early December and we’re planning to fill them up starting November 17th, so we’d appreciate to have enough donated by then– the goal is $5,000.
Also please share with your friends and social media using #PRChristmasProject
Ally Velsor 