Expressing the Inexpressible

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!     2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV

I recently received a gift.  It was a very generous gift, and one of which I am completely undeserving.

As I was driving to work yesterday, I was marveling at the the kindness behind the gift, and the generosity of the giver.  The nature of the gift was that it would serve to lift a heavy weight from my shoulders, and I was thanking God, while contemplating how best to manage this gift so that it might bring the most benefit.

And I was reminded of another gift that I sometimes take for granted, and for which I often fail to express ongoing gratitude.

By means of the cross, the Lord has extended to me such generosity, giving to me a gift far greater than any earthly gift I will ever receive.  Jesus, recognizing that I owed so much more than I would ever be able to pay, extended to me an offer to clear my debt.  My wages - what I had earned for myself by my work (sin) - was death.  The debt that I owed was my very literal life.  Death was the only recourse I had on my own to settle the bill that needed to be paid.

My Savior, not willing for my sin to be the end of me, took on Himself my sin, and received in His body the consequence that I deserved.

This is the "inexpressible gift" that Paul references in today's verse.  

Interestingly, this verse is part of a passage about earthly giving.  Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, and in this particular portion of his letter, Paul had been reminding them about a financial gift the Corinthian church had pledged to collect for some fellow believers.  It seems that Paul was concerned that the Corinthians might not be prepared to actually follow through on their pledge.

So the apostle took some time to remind the people of some basic premises of God's provision.  Paul wrote to them about sowing and reaping, using the agricultural illustration.  He then reminded them that beyond the practical, earthly notion of planting, harvesting, and being nourished, there were spiritual principles in play here.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that the giving of their money was less about providing for others' needs, and more about giving glory to God.  Their generosity was simply a means of expressing gratitude for the grace the Lord had extended to them.

And this passage concludes with the simple reminder that their expression was at once both significant and insignificant - for the gift they had already received was inexpressibly higher than the gift they were preparing to give.

Though he pointed out to the Corinthians that they were preparing to make small expression of the inexpressible, Paul encouraged them to do it anyway.  He recognized that their giving would open the door to a better understanding of the grace of God for them, and the furtherance of the Gospel beyond Corinth.

So today, I am simply thankful.

I am thankful for an earthly gift that has eased a bit of temporary burden.

And I am thankful for the inexpressible gift of God's grace, His gift of His Son, and the Son's gift of His life for mine, lifting my eternal burden.

Perhaps you, too, are feeling weighed down by the heaviness of life on planet earth today.  

Gratitude and praise, I believe, are our best means of finding some relief in times such as we are living.  And beyond the easing of our own burdens, as our hands and hearts open to the people around us, we have opportunity to encourage others to know and give glory to God.

Simple gratitude - insufficient, but so very needed...

...Just a thought...