Friday 24 April 2015

Psalm: Psalm 144

Background

This passage gives us a picture of how the early Church behavedtowards each other.

Passages like this have been used to support Communism and thereis evidence that some Jewish sects at the time lived by rules thatrequired members to sell all their possessions. Here though, thereis no compulsion for people to sell their property. The believersdidn't live together but in their own homes.

What seems to happen is that, through being unified andcommitted to each other's welfare, those who could would sellproperty and give the proceeds to the Apostles who would thendistribute it to those who were in need. They would give freelywithout expecting anything in return.

This concern for fellow believers and the generous giving was asa result of love. It was not done out of duty. It was not done inorder to following a set of imposed rules about property ownership.The depth of love was as a result of their being unified with Godand with each other.

In the middle of this passage is verse 33. This verse is notabout property or possessions but about evangelism. It seems almostnot to fit in with the flow of thought. What it does though, ismake the point that in the midst of all of these organisationalconsiderations, they did not lose sight of their primary call,which was to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

They were not purely inward looking but continued to be outwardlooking towards those who were not yet believers.

To Ponder

• As individuals and as a church how far are you outward looking?What proportion of your time is spent on looking after your ownfellowship, and what proportion is spent on spreading the gospel(good news) of Jesus Christ to others?

• The giving described in this passage was radical in its day.How radical is your giving today?

• When you give, do you give freely? Are you happy that no oneknows how generous you have been, perhaps not even those who havebenefitted?

Bible notes' author: The Revd Ros Watson