Connecting Faith and Generosity

Acts 4:32-47 The Believers Share Their Possessions

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For, from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levi from Cypress, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and set it at the apostles' feet."

Throughout the scriptures we see how faith and generosity are connected. This is not surprising since we see many examples of greed leading to destruction and misery.

As we encourage generous giving and generous living in others, it is critical that we live that way ourselves so that we, too, experience the freedom and the power that comes from holding loosely onto things. Notice that in the process of "unclaiming" possessions, the apostles were testifying with power and with grace.

If giving generously is conducive to sharing our testimony that Jesus saves sinners, how much more so should our sharing God's blessings be a witness to others to follow the example?

How good are we at being generous? Generosity includes our material wealth; it isn't limited to it? What skills has God placed in you? Are you sharing these freely? How about your time? This is what we hold onto the most tightly.

We cannot preach and teach what we do not live.