"All the believers were of one heart and mind... they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32 NLT)
Sometimes it's easier to give a dollar than it is to really share everything we have. Poverty runs deeper then lack of money and resources, in fact, much of the poverty is really a lack of connectedness to others.
I'm a product of the "church," and as such I know, like some of you, that "church" can be one of the loneliest places to be. As a pastor I've tried every "gimmick" that experts said would work in closing the proverbial "back door." But I know that too often the "church"gives up on people just as they are about to share their lives with us. Maybe because we find it difficult to share our lives with them? "I don't want to think about my life before Christ, or the struggles that I've had, even as a growing Christian," we say. "They just take too much out of me" I lament to myself and to God.
I've used the same sentiments. But lately I reminded of those people who continued to share life with me, even when I wasn't the easiest to share life with. They shared their hurts and struggles; their failures and subsequent growth. That couldn't have been easy for them, but they "shared everything they had..."
Sharing life takes a lot of energy (and maybe even hurt along the way) and granted, it is easier to give a dollar here and there. But the relationships we build when we share life are eternal. Life is messy. Don't be afraid of someone else's mess, at some point someone wasn't afraid of yours. Jesus wasn't, and still isn't,
Invest your life in the lives of others. As you share life everything else seems to follow. Share your life and see how you get invited into the back doors of peoples lives.
Have a great weekend and get messy and share life!
Shawn
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