Acts 4: 32 - 35
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.
If Jesus was not the rebel, then this passage from Acts smacks of hippies and socialism. What do Christians today make of this passage? How is it dismissed or embraced? It seems pretty clear it is what we are to emulate. The Acts of the Apostles clearly shows them living in some kind of commune setup.
Rather than stoke the fires of political upheaval which I have already been accused of doing, what can we make of this? Today's passage speaks of being of one heart and soul. Could we at least find common ground in Christ if we claim to be Christian? On the one hand you may have Christians who seek inclusiveness and equality at every turn, men, women, gay, or whatever. On another front you have the Christian equivalent ( in my eyes ) of the Pharisees, hypocrites one and all, wishing to take us back to 'the good old days' of rules, rubrics, men are in charge of everything and a woman should be silent, ready and perky in waiting for their man. I do not see a common ground here. As long as some think they are entitled and others are not; as long as some shout respect when it is not in any way mutual or meaningful, there is no common ground. The battleground has been laid.
Here's the rub, there can be no cooperation with or apologetics for evil. No common ground. There is no middle ground for evil, no negotiating. It is their way or the highway. Yes, Jesus consorted, dined and hung out with 'sinners'. Have you ever wondered if it is us who labelled them sinners and that to Jesus they were just people? So maybe, Jesus did not in fact have so called 'sinners' for friends, just people like you and me who have occasion to sin on their journey to wholeness and holiness. But at the same time Jesus could not find a middle ground with true evil, no one can and we certainly cannot without turning our backs on God. Jesus did not have discussions with evil, He drove it out. The swine leaped off a cliff rather than be in the presence of God.
For any common ground we must have at the very least an agreement on the equality of all humans as Jesus does. We must have a mutuality of respect and recognized dignity. We must bear our cross and willingly and lovingly put others first. That does not mean let the boot stompers of evil walk all over us or let evil have it's turn at the world. We've been there and done that. How many died?
We are searching for a commonality in love and respect.
Here's the rub, there can be no cooperation with or apologetics for evil. No common ground. There is no middle ground for evil, no negotiating. It is their way or the highway. Yes, Jesus consorted, dined and hung out with 'sinners'. Have you ever wondered if it is us who labelled them sinners and that to Jesus they were just people? So maybe, Jesus did not in fact have so called 'sinners' for friends, just people like you and me who have occasion to sin on their journey to wholeness and holiness. But at the same time Jesus could not find a middle ground with true evil, no one can and we certainly cannot without turning our backs on God. Jesus did not have discussions with evil, He drove it out. The swine leaped off a cliff rather than be in the presence of God.
For any common ground we must have at the very least an agreement on the equality of all humans as Jesus does. We must have a mutuality of respect and recognized dignity. We must bear our cross and willingly and lovingly put others first. That does not mean let the boot stompers of evil walk all over us or let evil have it's turn at the world. We've been there and done that. How many died?
We are searching for a commonality in love and respect.
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