Been Wondering . . .(Part One)

In his second book, Acts of the Apostles, New Testament author Luke wrote many interesting statements about the first followers of Jesus. The one I found most intriguing was, "...there was not a needy person among them..."(Acts 4:34a)



So what thoughts and questions came to mind when I first read that? Well, like so many rich phrases nestled in the Scriptures, I simply read right over it. Truthfully, for years and years I continued to read over it, until the day I read a conclusion that Shane Claiborne came to concerning the first Christians in Jerusalem. He said, "they ended poverty"(1).



Really??? WOW!!! Is that even possible?



I do not believe by qualifying his statement to "within the church" diminishes its power at all; for we are speaking of a congregation that included 5000 men(Acts 4:4). And so for a long time now, I have thought that this accomplishment of theirs was worthy of one's deep, deepest consideration.



I would like to split this discussion into two parts. Today, How did the first Christians get to the point of "not having a needy person among them"? And later, Why was this accomplishment so vitally important?



For any church family(congregation) to arrive at this point, where not a single member has any need of life's essentials(and remains that way), it takes ideals greater than human energy and ingenuity, or even self-discipline. This 'lifestyle' within any congregation is built upon an exclusive characteristic and a predominant attitude. Look two verses earlier in thirty-two:

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them".

Did you catch the two...the exclusive characteristic and the predominant attitude?

The exclusive characteristic of the Jerusalem church was that their "heart and soul were one"; and the predominant attitude was that "not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own".

I honestly believe, in the depths of my heart, that these two ingredients are essential before any church family/congregation can move in the direction of "ending poverty" within its walls. It was true of the first congregation; it must be true of ours/yours as well. Unless a congregation is characterized by an unprecedented oneness of heart and thought; and unless its indivdual members are absolutely able to voice that anything belonging to him/her is really not his/her own, then there will be someone/some family in that fellowship lacking an essential need. Without the presence of both essential ingredients, even the awareness of another's need is naught!

Really, Lee? Absolutely!

And why is that so important? Does that really matter anyway? Does that count for anything anymore? We will discuss the answers to those questions next time . . .



(1) Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Becoming the Answer to our Prayers(Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2008), p. 37.