Kim shared some of the building blocks with which she was playing with a little boy in her pre-school class. When her teacher saw it she praised Kim for sharing. Kyle realized that one of his good friends had forgotten his lunch and didn’t have money to purchase one. Kyle sat down beside the boy, tore his sandwich in half and gave it to his friend. Kyle understood that sharing was what friends did when one was in need.

Somewhere along the course of our lives we stop being praised for sharing. Instead of sharing we’re encouraged to make as much as we can and concentrate on getting more rather than giving more. People who accumulate a lot are envied and emulated. People who give a lot are often called naïve and unrealistic.

The early Christians went against the norms of their society. They decided that in response to the gospel of Jesus they would love each other and share their possession with each other. In the fellowship of Christians no one was lacking and no one had more than they needed. The witness of those early Christians was powerful. As descendants of those early Christians we are invited to follow their example. In response to God’s rich blessings in our lives we are challenged to share those blessings with others. Amazing things can happen when we do.

Acts 4:32-37

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.