As our party approached, my wife and I started planning. With many people coming, should we pay a caterer to cook? If we do the cooking ourselves, should we buy a barbeque? With a chance of rain on the day, should we buy a tent too? Soon our party was getting expensive, and even a little anti-social. By trying to provide everything ourselves, we were missing an opportunity to receive the help of others.
The Bible’s vision of community is one of both giving and receiving. Even before the fall, Adam needed help (Genesis 2:18). We’re also called to seek others’ advice (Proverbs 15:22) and share our burdens (Galatians 6:2). The early church held “everything in common,” benefiting from each other’s “property and possessions” (Acts 2:44–45 ). Instead of living independently, they shared, borrowed, gave and received in beautiful interdependence.
We ended up asking guests to bring a salad or dessert to our party. Our neighbours brought their barbeque, and a friend brought his tent. Asking for help enabled us to forge closer relationships, and the food people made brought variety and delight. In an age like ours, being self-sufficient can be a source of pride. But God gives His grace “to the humble” (James 4:6), including those who humbly ask for help.
By Sheridan Voysey
REFLECT & PRAY
What stops you from asking for help? What do you currently need that you could borrow instead of buy?
God, thank You for making us relational creatures. Help me to live humbly, sharing both my wealth and needs with others.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Acts 2:44 pictures the unity and interdependence of the church: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” This same idea comes into view again in chapter 4: “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” (v. 32). The English words common (2:44) and shared ( 4:32) are translations of the Greek word koinos, which means “common,” “ordinary,” “belonging to generality.” In addition, it can refer to things that are ceremonially unclean. In Acts 4:32, we also find a word with the opposite meaning, idios, which is translated “their own”: “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own.” The early church snapshots in these chapters reveal a dynamic, Spirit-formed unity and humility that led believers to selflessly give and receive.
Arthur Jackson
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