14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality,
The way the body of Christ is supposed to work is encapsulated in this verse. When I have plenty I can share with the one in need. When they have plenty, they share with me when I am in need. Remember we are a body. If the foot needs some care, the rest of the body steps up (no pun intended) and takes care of the foot. That is because we are all connected. If the foot dies, the rest of the body’s death follows. But there is far from equity in the body today. We have fellow believers starving in countries where naming the name of Jesus results in all their property getting seized. We don’t even have to go across the globe to find need. I bet there are some widows in your neighborhood that need a new roof, or some plumbing fixed, or the grass cut, or some peeling paint scraped, primed and painted. They might need a wheelchair ramp so they are not trapped in their house. Or maybe it is the single mother of four who needs the oil changed on her duct-taped vehicle. Or the elderly man whose wife died last year and just needs a good meal with some conversation. Or the kid down the street whose drunk dad never has a kind word. But too many of us live in our sterile worlds, never rubbing shoulders, let alone really getting to know and care about those around us. But Jesus calls us to be salt and light, preservative and guide, life-enhancer and insightful probe. If we are sitting on our piles of plenty, it is probably smelling to everyone around us, unless everyone around us is also sitting on their piles. God places things in our care, we don’t own them, they are not ours to keep, they are just passing through our hands. But too often our possessions possess us. They become the center of our existence and therefore we miss the opportunity, the calling, the necessity of meeting the needs of others. God might have blessed you, but not so you can be blessed, but so you can be a blessing to others. Pass it along, it will feel much better when you obey.
The Arnold Journey 