From start to finish
2 Corinthians 8:10-11 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.
Paul was writing his second letter to the Corinthians. He was here trying to encourage them to give to support the needy in Jerusalem and Judea. The Jews there due to sieges, famine, and persecution were in dire need. Although Paul was called to deliver the Gospel to the Gentiles, he still had a heart for his fellow Jew and took the opportunity to express the brotherhood of Christians in sacrificial giving that knows no bounds. Paul had used the example of the churches in Macedonia that had given so sacrificially. Paul spends much time in chapters 8 & 9 on the subject of giving; more than anywhere else in the New Testament.
A product of the heart of a Christian is a desire to give; to serve; to perform a good deed out of love for what Christ has given us; a desire to repay and extend our love to others. The Corinthians excelled in many gifts, and Paul encouraged them to use them. 2 Corinthians 8:7 But as you abound in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us–see that you abound in this grace also. 8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. The giving of ourselves in any way in the name of Christ is an act of Christ through us; it lets His light shine through us to a dark world. These examples of our love for our fellow man are examples of Christian love; providing for those in need. Christ gave us the ultimate gift when we were spiritually bankrupt; He paid our eternal debt and gave us the opportunity to become eternally rich.
The scripture above could be paraphrased simply, “Finish what you started”. So many times we are spurred on to the impulse of acts of kindness only to have Satan block our paths of completion. Satan indeed will give you every reason and opportunity to not see them through to completion; many of them will even seem under good pretense. When you are given the thought of the act; God knows what he has supplied you for that thought. 2 Corinthians 8:12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. That is your enemy trying to convince you you cannot do it; you will not complete it; you will not succeed with it. Christ is telling you to start and finish it; He will provide.
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