For John one of the marks of a true Christian is love. God is love. Jesus laid down his life out of love. We should love one another. And what is this love? It is more than a feeling; it is an action. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:16-18).
The early disciples lived this out. We read in Acts 2:44 that "(A)ll the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Today we find it hard to fathom that this can or even should be done.
For Reflection: We who are fortunate may have no first-hand experience of poverty. We may only see pictures on TV of people who have nothing or who have lost everything. We may never have been through a hurricane, a tornado or even a job loss. Would we be willing to sell what we have in order to give to someone we don't know personally? Would we be willing to do it for a friend?
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, I've never sold anything to help someone else. I'm not sure I have that quality of love, that level of love. But I'm willing to learn.
The early disciples lived this out. We read in Acts 2:44 that "(A)ll the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." Today we find it hard to fathom that this can or even should be done.
For Reflection: We who are fortunate may have no first-hand experience of poverty. We may only see pictures on TV of people who have nothing or who have lost everything. We may never have been through a hurricane, a tornado or even a job loss. Would we be willing to sell what we have in order to give to someone we don't know personally? Would we be willing to do it for a friend?
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, I've never sold anything to help someone else. I'm not sure I have that quality of love, that level of love. But I'm willing to learn.
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