REMEMBER(?)

Earlier this week, I struck up a conversation with a cashier at one of Claudia and I’s regular spots. We talked about how we were both interested in what our favorite stand-up comedians will have to say about coronavirus after it is all over.

While we speculated on what people might remember and joke about, this conversation also got me thinking about what the church will be remembered for doing during this crisis.

In Acts 4:32, Luke recounts how the early church responded to the crisis of their time. He writes, “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” (NIV). As a result of their giving, “there were no needy persons among them” (verse 34). In his commentary on the book of Acts (1998), Ajith Fernando explains that this was not simply a case of the rich obligatorily giving to the poor people nor the poor taking advantage of the rich. Rather, “(The early church) is the case of a community where everyone contributes vitally with their unique gifts… Some give money while others give nonmaterial gifts” (p.193). Meaning, the early church is remembered for giving what they could during a time of crisis so that others did not have to go without.

While we are facing a crisis with coronavirus, there are also collateral crises.
There are college students making adjustments… There are families without supplies… There are local businesses trying to stay open… As part of the modern church in this time of crisis, what does it look like for you to give what you can so that someone else doesn’t have to go without?

It might look like you giving some of your time to check-in or connect with a college student… It might look like giving a family something they need from your supply… It might look like giving business to a local spot… When this crisis is over, my hope is that the church will be remembered for giving what they could so that others did not have to go without.