#8 No needy persons among them

A short thought at the end of a long day…
The early church was staggeringly beautiful. The presence of the Holy Spirit at work performing miracles, the bold yet gracious preaching of the gospel, daily individuals and families were discovering God and a new spiritual family, inexpressible joy — and all this in the middle of trouble and great suffering. Yet, there is another aspect to the early church that brings tears to my eyes and a hope that I can be part of a similar modern church. Radical, sacrificial, cheerful generosity.
Acts 2v44–45 NIV
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possession to give to anyone who had need.
Acts 4v32–34 NIV
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
2 Cor 8v2 NIV
In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.
Wow. No needy persons among them. What an incredible thought. The church taking care of each other. This was not some program instituted by a socialist government. This was people freely and voluntarily giving radically so that the needy would be taken of. Although I don’t see that socialism can ever be an effective economic system, there are elements that are attractive: everybody being taken care of. But the only way this can ever be truly effective is when people are changed personally to such a degree that they plead for the opportunity to give radically.
In Acts 4, there is are a couple of intriguing phrases: …God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them… The outworking of the grace of God was outrageous generosity. This is a message for the church of today, where far too many scandals surrounding money, greed and stealing from the poor abound. Individual believers and churches need to be shining lights in a harsh, greedy, stingy world.
I wonder what it will take to have churches where there are no needy persons among us. Where the grace of God is so powerfully at work in us, that generosity and wisdom and opportunities for the poor and needy lead to transformed lives. Having lived in South Africa and now in Brazil, it’s hard to imagine what this could really look like. I imagine that nowadays it goes beyond giving finance, to include all kinds of other things. But whatever it looks like, whatever it takes, I, for one, will be praying for the grace of God in ever increasing power!
