"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(NIV)
The early believers lived
together. They lived as one heart, one mind, and one soul in service,
fellowship, prayers and witnessing. Their oneness makes them willing to
sacrifice for their brothers and sisters. They support each other not only
spiritually but also materially. Everyone's property belongs together and no
one is in need.
It is interesting that "no
one claimed that any of their possessions was their own." Now we live in a
culture where people value privacy very much. Many people don't want to be
disturbed because they are having their quality time. "This is my time to
watch movie, this is my time for bla..bla.." etc. Meanwhile, many people
are also proud of their ownership: "This is my life,… this is mine, this
is the result of my hard work" Often we see on social media many people
showing off their possessions. We see them as successful because we are used to
measure things by "what people get, receive or have." Yet everything
becomes invalid after death. Living only to hunt and defend property will be in
vain after death. Why don't we become human beings who measure everything by
"what can I give or share?"
Reading the way of life of the
early church makes us realize that we don't have to feel a loss about giving up
or share what we have in order to become God's disciples. Driven by the love of
Christ, the early church was willing to sell its possessions to be presented
for the continuation of God's work, one of which was diakonia (34-35).
Everything we have is a gift from God. We have no right to claim everything is
ours before God, the Owner of Everything. Service and togetherness to be a
disciple of God is a special thing. Let's imitate the way of life of the early
church who felt worthy to sacrifice everything they had for the sake of
togetherness and mission of the Church.
Reflection on Acts 4:32-36 by Fransiskus Diaz, SVD.
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