I want to look closely at the marks of the radical community that Jesus dreamt of. Looking at the heart of this community gives us a clear view of the Good News that can radically transform lives, communities, and the world at large. We have glimpses of this dream in Scripture. Some clear ones can be found in John 17 or the ever famous Acts 2:42-47. But for this conversation, I am going to land on one topic in Acts 2:42-47.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Now is this passage, one can expound on many different thoughts about what the early community of believers did. But, as I mentioned before, I am going to land on one thought: A Generous Community. A sign or a distinction of a living church, is a generous community. God is a generous God. We don’t have to look far to be convinced of this. He gave His one and only Son. He extends grace & mercy, etc. etc. If one of God’s attributes is Generosity, then it seems to fit that the church must be a generous church.
I am convinced (not insightful at all…trust me) that Christians are confused about generosity (told ya…), especially when they read this passage. I have heard people say things like, “There is no way we could ever cure world poverty”, “This is extreme and we don’t function this way anymore”, “We need to be poor, possessions are bad”, “I don’t see Christians living like that, so why should I be that radical?”, or even yet, “I give my 10%. Why should extend myself more?” I encourage you to discover why this passage of radical generosity is difficult for you too.
But, I want to take a close look at what this passage (and other verses) says about being a Generous Community. Generosity has always been something that is close to God’s heart. It is hard to miss this fact as you scan the story of God. For instance, look at Deuteronomy 15, specifically v. 7-11, “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near”, so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing…Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
In this particular part of Scripture, God is talking about the year of canceling debts. But in those verses, God says that they shouldn’t wait for the 7th year to come around to be generous. It should be a natural characteristic of the communities life. Acts 2 speaks of the same idea. What Acts 2 is not saying is that all Christians should live a life of poverty, a monastic life. I know that today this may not be a common sentiment among many. God does call some to live a life of voluntary poverty, but not everyone gets that call. But this does not exclude the fact that everyone in the Church is called to radical generosity. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances must simplify our economic lifestyle–not because we imagine this will solve the world’s macroeconomic problems but out of solidarity with the poor.
I want you to notice some phrases that one can discover in the early community of believers.
“devoted themselves to fellowship” Important because they were in loving relationships. Good way to discover needs and to generously give.
“believers were together & had everything in common” No hierarchy, no division, no class/race separation, etc.
“Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need” When a need was seen or told about, someone or groups of people within this community would sell possessions or goods in order to give to that need.
Also, we can see this same pattern later in Acts 4:32-35, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had…There were no needy persons among them (IT IS POSSIBLE AFTER ALL!). From time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”
A Generous Community//no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own. A great example of this would be: Lets say that I own a plasma Tv. I know of a brother in my community who just had some medical expenses and is short 1000. I should sell my plasma Tv (or give the money if I have it, but do I really need a Plasma tv?) and give the proceeds to my brother. That seems to be rather difficult doesn’t it. We could do this with cars and even our property. This is what Jesus had in mind when he dreamt of the church. It works! If we followed this model, there would be no needy people among us. What happens when people within the church cease to follow this? We create classes and divisions based on wealth and status in society. But this is so contradictory to the early community of believers. It says here that they were one in heart and mind. That they had all things in common.
BUT, if we dug deeper, we would see the heart of generosity. It isn’t simply to fight greed (though it does) nor to give “things” away. It is a fruit of love. Look at John 3:16, For God so loved, that He gave. What did He give? A very precious possession. God is revealed through, first, the world he has made (Romans 1:19-20), for both the heavens and the earth declare his glory (psalm 19:1-6; Isaiah 6:3). Second and supremely, he has revealed himself by sending Jesus into the world. Jesus even said, “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), and Paul could describe him as the “visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). But the third way requires a community. The invisible God, who once made himself visible in Jesus, now makes himself visible in Christians, IF WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER (John 13:35; 17:21; 1 John 1:18).
A GENEROUS COMMUNITY//IS ESSENTIAL//IT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD//GOD IS GENEROUS//THE CHURCH TOO MUST BE GENEROUS.
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