2 Corinthians 12:14–15: Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
True ministry selflessly seeks the spiritual welfare of others, gladly spending and being spent. This is true whenever you serve, be it with believers or unbelievers or children or students or the ill or in the pulpit or in world missions. This is what is most needed if authentic ministry is to take place—joyously seeking the best for others and gladly spending self. This is Christlike, apostolic, true ministry.
Paul willingly spent everything for the Corinthians—all his material resources and all his energies. The price he paid was impoverishment, poor health, premature old age, and, as we know, a martyr’s death. It was the logic of this example that led the wealthy, privileged Victorian athlete and scholar C. T. Studd, upon graduation from Cambridge, to spend his life in the Congo with this motto: “If Jesus Christ be God, and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.” 1
Personal Application
- Read Matthew 16:25-26. What is the most profitable thing for you to do on earth?
Godly Encouragement
- For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. –2 Corinthians 1:20
A Biblical Thought to Share with Others
To spend yourself for the cause of Christ is an investment worth making. – TWEET IT
A Prayer to Consider
Lord, thank You for spending Yourself on me. Teach me how to spend myself for You.
1. Hughes, R. K. (2006). 2 Corinthians: power in weakness. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
