Spend and be spent

 2 Corinthians 12:15

E. Hurndall

I. A SPLENDID ILLUSTRATION OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE. The apostle is carried beyond the thought of giving some time, or strength, or property, for his beloved Corinthians; he expresses his perfect willingness to give himself. He will not count it a grief, but a gladness, to expend himself for them. Whilst many find great difficulty in giving a little for others, the apostle seems to find none in giving all. Here we have:

1. Whole-souled devotion. Nothing can transcend the apostle's offer. And the voluntariness and the joy of the devotion place it in the first rank of excellence.

2. Earnest desire for welfare. The love of Paul for the Corinthians could not have been more forcibly expressed. Men gauge our love for them by what we are willing to give up for them; when we are willing to give up ourselves for them, they cannot but be convinced of our sincerity.

3. Indication of the importance of Christian work. For nothing else in the world would Paul have willingly spent himself. But Christian service more than justified the self-sacrifice. In his judgment nothing could compare with it for a moment. We may remember that in all departments of life we can render Christian service; spheres of labour become insignificant and mean only when Christian service is excluded from them.

4. A striking imitation of Christ. Paul has caught his Master's spirit. His Lord laid down his life for him; he will now lay down his life for his Lord. Christ "gave himself." The Lord's servant is most fitted to do his Lord's work when he is most like his Lord.

5. A secret of success. When we labour for Christ in such a spirt as this we are certain to prosper. Failure is the child of half heartedness and selfishness. Christ honour an entire consecration to his service.

II. SELF-EXPENDING CHRISTIAN SERVICE PROMPTED BY A HIGH MOTIVE. The apostle was willing to spend himself for the souls of the Corinthians - "and be spent for your souls" (New Version). In this labour he was seeking at the same time the highest glory of God and Christ, and the truest welfare of men. These objects unite in Christian service, which aims pre-eminently to do good to the souls of men. The saving and perfecting of souls redounds supremely to the glory of the Divine Being, whilst it secures the highest good for humanity. So dominated was the apostle by the desire to do good to the souls of men, that what is usually a very strong motive for action, viz. the love of others for us, was quite swept away. He declares that he will expend himself for the Corinthians, though this strongest indication of his love to them should produce a decreasing love for him on their part. The disinterested character of true Christian service is here very strikingly displayed. It was by such self-expenditure as that of Paul's that early Christianity won its triumphs; it is for such self-expenditure that later Christianity pathetically calls. God is always thoroughly in earnest, but men are not. When men become so then "the arm of the Lord is revealed." - H.

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