Abundance Meets Need

Hi friends, and welcome to today's reading from the Our Daily Bread devotional.

I'm Kirsten Holmberg, and I titled our reading, Abundance Meets Need. School cafeterias, like large catering businesses, often prepare more food than is consumed simply because they can't perfectly predict the need, and leftover food goes to waste. Yet, there are many students who don't have enough food to eat at home and who go hungry on weekends. One U.S. school district partnered with a local nonprofit to find a solution.

They packaged leftovers to send home with students and simultaneously addressed the problems of both food waste and hunger. While most people wouldn't look at an abundance of money as a problem the way we do with wasted food, the principle behind the school project is the same as what Paul suggests in his letter to the Corinthians. He knew the churches in Macedonia were experiencing hardship, so he asked the church in Corinth to use their plenty to supply what they needed.

His objective was to bring equality among the churches, so none had too much while others were suffering. Paul didn't want the Corinthian believers to be impoverished by their giving, but to empathize with and be generous to the Macedonians, recognizing that at some point in the future they too were likely to need similar help. When we see others in need, let's evaluate whether we might have something to share. Our giving, however large or small, will never be a waste.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, verses 13 through 15. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard-pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time, your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.

The goal is equality as it is written, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, please awaken us to the needs of others so that we might give of the resources you've given us. When we're in need, help us to trust you to provide through those who also love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.