week of 11-10-10 1st recorded bible study

The passage I read was 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
You can find it here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+8%3A1-9&version=NIV

My summary of the passage is this:
This was an encouragement and challenge to the believers at Corinth. Paul here tells them about the churches at Macedonia. He says they haven’t much but what they have they give. He says they are in a trial and still overflowing with joy, that they are generous even beyond their ability to give, and that they are urging others to also be this generous. Paul then challenges the believers at Corinth saying that they have so much faith and ability and that they have excelled in every good thing. He says he wants to test their sincerity of love by comparing them with the earnestness of others (such as the churches in Macedonia). They key verse that stands out to me is this:

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

As I reflect:
Even thought the believers at Corinth wwere doing so well in so many areas, there was still room for improvement and Paul was quick to challenge them to continue growth in the area of generosity. As if it weren’t enough to compare them to this lowly set of churches with almost nothing, Paul goes one further and compares to our Lord Jesus Christ who gave all for us. That’s pretty convicting. A very strong example of the generosity that we ought to have in our own lives. In another passage of scripture we are reminded that we ought to have the mindset/heartset to lay down our life for another (even an underserving person). That Christ was willing to lay down His life to pay our debt and show His love for us while we were yet sinners is the ultimate example of what love truly is. It is an example that we should all follow. We should love not only those close to us, but even a complete stranger enough to die to our own desires to serve and help them any way we can. I am reminded that we are Jesus Christ’s hands and feet here. Where we go and how we act determines the view that others will make of what God is like. If God’s followers are stingy with their gifts, then we have misrepresented our Father. If God’s followers are willing to lay down their lives joyfully for the good of a stranger, how strong a witness of grace may we be to this world.

My response to the Lord:
Lord, full of grace you gave your Son for my debt to be paid. You loved me enough to do this and bring me close. I can never thank you enough Father. But while I am here on this Earth I can (if you are willing) be an ambassador for your kingdom. I know the general public view of a “Christian” because it is this view of us that I must battle at every opportunity to witness. Holy Father, I pray that you would use me and the many other men and women that are willing to change the public view of God by what our actions show. Lord help us to be salt and light as we draw the lost closer to you. Lord prepare the hearts of the many as we bring your kingdom. May we be generous even to the end of our lives, faithful to serve, and may we lose not the joy you have allowed as we take hold of our labor for sake of the harvest. In Jesus Name