sharing

A number of years ago, a dear widow in the church where we were pastoring came to our home and explained to us that she would like to share her bank account with us. At first, we didn’t grasp what she was offering. We finally realized that she wanted to share her money with us, similar to how the early Christians had everything in common (Acts 4:32-37). After picking ourselves up off the floor, we accepted her generous offer.

When I read about how the early church shared everything, I wonder why many of our North American churches don’t experience this kind of community. Sometimes, I see it in small churches and in small groups where people hear about personal needs and have the relational connection that motivates them to help their friends. I long for this kind of deep community where people are so close to each other that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to support, encourage, and challenge each other. Who knows, maybe in this kind of community, we might even choose to share our bank accounts with one another.