Acts - Week 2 / Friday

Reading for today: Acts 4:32-37

The great goal of the early Christians was to glorify God. And their faith was more than intellectual. It extended to their hearts and their motives, and it reached into their pocketbooks. They didn't lose sight of the fact that since God had redeemed them, they and all they had belonged to Him.

It's not hard to say, "Lord, I am Yours! What do You want me to do?" It's much harder to live this way, using what you are and have to the glory of God. We would be well-served to remember that God is not nearly as much concerned with how we would use the $1 million we don't have as with what we do with the $20 in our pocket.

Because the early Christians were so generous, there was not a needy person among them. That's a pretty amazing statement. This redistribution of resources was not some form of communism. For one thing, it was optional. Their sharing was an expression of their love for each other, not some political or social system.

There is no indication that everybody sold all their land at once. Rather, from time to time this was done as needs arose. Luke, being the very careful writer, moves from the general to the specific here, and gives us an example of Barnabas, who sold his land and brought the money to the apostles for distribution to those in need.

Their faith touched every part of their lives---including their resources. Is my faith that real?

Next week: Be sure your sin will find you out!