Thank You, Father, for answered prayers. When we had no answers, You provided one. And as was Your creation, it was good! All praise to You!

Acts 2: 42-47 (<<click here to read the passage)

Many, if not all, of us, have people in our lives that we would do absolutely anything for. Most often they are those who are closest to us – parents, children, siblings, and other family. They can be our closest friends, as well. We’d give them the shirt off our back if we were asked to.

Some of us are very generous with many of our resources – time, money, energy, effort. We eagerly give whatever is needed to help those less fortunate than we. But I would dare say, that even in those circumstances, there are limits.

In the earliest days of the Church, there didn’t seem to be any limits. Verses 44-45 state very clearly,

And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole]. And they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing the proceeds with all [the other believers], as anyone had need. AMP (emphasis mine)

When I read this passage a couple of days ago, the phrase that came to mind was the great divide that would have existed. Those who accepted the lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives during this initial time, I’m sure, were a cross-section of society – from the wealthiest to the dregs of society…masters down to the slaves they owned.

At least at this time they “had all things in common”. Can you imagine? It’s difficult, to say the least, to do so. But the Holy Spirit’s infilling was complete in them all and they were not driven by a greed to succeed but by God’s great love – His for us, us for Him, and that naturally ran over into love for one another! No strings attached generosity and hand in hand with it would have been genuine gratitude and humility from both the givers and the receivers. The key is that both giving and receiving were done totally in the Spirit!

…and that is where our problem lies today. There are those on both sides, if you will, who give or receive in the Spirit, but both get burnt by those who give or receive with only their hearts in mind. God doesn’t really factor in at all.

But should that great possibility stop us? How many of us hesitate to give to the needy for fear of being taken advantage of? How many hesitate to receive for fear of becoming indebted in some way or another to the giver?

Some years ago, my one church decided to take action with a progressive mindset. The church building sits on a main highway, and it was not unusual for needy travelers to stop and ask for assistance. Often, they were on their way to or coming back from a family funeral that was out of state and they were out of the funds they needed to get there.

We decided to purchase gift cards for a specific gas brand that had stations both north and south of us. They would be able to buy gas or basic foodstuffs as needed. Of course, there was always the possibility that they would be ripping us off and would by things we wouldn’t approve of, but the leadership decided that we would do what was right and allow God to address the rest. They would not have to answer to us, but they would have to answer to Him.

Lord Jesus, help us to be generous. It may be difficult to have all things in common but by no means we should not be willing to give of whatever resources we might have. And may we be generous for Your glory and not our own. Amen.

Jan 13th, 2022, Thurs, 7:02 pm