From Unity to Generosity

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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.
- Acts 4:32
 
The early Christian community was marked by a radical generosity. That generosity flowed from their deep sense of unity and connectedness.
 
We’re told that they were all “one in heart and mind.” They cared for each other and gave thought to each other. They paid attention to the people around them and allowed the needs of others to tug on their emotions. 
 
They weren’t consumers of a simple religious commodity. They weren’t curious inquirers listening to the newest controversial ideas in religious philosophy. Instead, they became a community.
 
Their connection to their stuff became less important to them than their connection to each other. They shared freely and generously. And they received from each other without shame.
 
All too often religious communities demand generosity as a precondition to belonging. You have to pay to play. In these conditions, you feel like you’re constantly being squeezed, sized up, shaken down. You wonder if anyone cares about you; or if they only care about what you can do for them.
 
Unity precedes generosity. And generosity always follows unity. If you’re struggling to respond with generosity to the needs around you, then something’s gone awry in the relationship. The roots of what’s gone wrong may be in you, may be in the way the other people are acting, or may be in the past. You can dig around if you’re interested.
 
Growing in generosity is one of the most life-giving things we can do. When we share freely of our time, finances, experiences, networks, and resources, we experience a tremendous personal blessing.
 
To whom might God be inviting you to be generous this week? What might make it difficult to show generosity to those people? What might you do to push through that difficulty and seek unity with those people?

1 Comment

I am learning--oh so gradually-contemplative prayer. At the crux of it is turning from one's thoughts to Jesus. Eventually this turning seeps out of prayer time into ordinary life. ("Seeps" is the operative word for me so far. Like I said, "oh so gradually.")

Many a thought is actually a feeling. With a feeling the idea is to stand apart, so to speak, and look at it, become aware of it, and then return to Jesus. (In other words, you're not being dictated by it but neither are you suppressing it. You return to Jesus, entrusting Him with it.)

With that background, I sought to engage with today's blog. As I "dug around" the feeling I became aware of was "selfishness." (ouch) You may say "duh" to this, but never before had I broken down that word: Self. Selfish. Selfishness. Ah, good old "self" up to its old tricks.

I already know I can't deal with my self by my self. Been there, tried (and tried and tried) that.

Bottom line, Jesus does a good work in us or we're sunk. He puts His love in us and it keeps filling up every space we surrender out of our helplessness until "self" no longer gets to call the shots. That's what I'm counting on. That's what had happened in Acts 4 I figure.
Each was one with Christ, in His love, and thereby united with one another in His love. Yes, Lord, be it so with me, with us.

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