At this point, you may be thinking that you are just not up to that sort of giving. But if that is the case, you have to read on because Paul not only gives a great formula for giving, but he gives the secret to that kind of giving, again using the Christians in Macedonia as an illustration. He wrote in verse 5, "And they did not do as we expected." They expected the Macedonian churches to give something, but they just did not give as expected. "They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will."

We read in the Book of Acts that the Christians at Antioch sent money to Jerusalem. Paul collected money as he traveled into Macedonia and into Greece proper. He refers to the one trip several times where, together with representatives of the Gentile churches, he went to Jerusalem to present this great offering. I suppose Paul thought of this as a testimony to the great unity of the Christian church. That is because here was a true, common brotherhood of those who had been born again and were brothers and sisters with Jesus Christ, showing a family concern for one another. So as Paul is writing to the Corinthians, he encourages them to give.

At the very end of 2 Corinthians 8, the fourth thing I notice is that Paul tells the Corinthians how in spite of their sin he boasted about them to Titus and to other people. He must have said to Titus, "These Corinthians are Christians. When they get this letter, the Holy Spirit will work in them. They are far more mature than their behavior is indicating. They are going to repent of their sin and they are going to get back on the right course." At the same time he must have also said, "I sure hope that is an accurate analysis." When Titus returned and the report was good, Paul could say, "See, I was right. God is working in those men and women in Corinth. They are God’s people and they are going to make it. They are going to grow and mature in the Christian life." And Paul, as he tells about that, is not afraid to be vulnerable.

When Paul writes this letter, he is particularly vulnerable. He is very frank and open as he shares his experiences and feelings with the Corinthians. The keynote of this section is his reference to the word "hearts." In verse 2 he uses "your hearts," and in verse 3 he uses "our hearts." This section is a repetition of what he wrote in the previous chapter, verse 11: "We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you"; then on that basis in verse 13 he says, "...open wide your hearts also." Here, in chapter 7, he says, "Make room for us in your hearts. ...I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you."

Another reason for a failure of intimacy is what is called "low self-esteem" or "low self-image." Now, if men have a problem particularly in the area of the fear of intimacy, I would venture to say that, while it is true of men also, many women in our day especially suffer with low self-image. Perhaps the culture is partially to blame. Today women are told that they can be everything. Now they probably can be, but they cannot be everything at once.