Remember the poor
Verse of the Day: Acts 4: 32-35 "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. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need"
The life of the apostles of the early church often leads me to ask myself a lot of questions even though they seem easy to answer. What is the share of the poor in the Church of Jesus Christ? When the bible speaks of the poor, it is about true orphans, true widows (those who have inherited nothing from their husbands), the homeless and those who are totally dependent even for eating.
I often try to know the place of the poor in the Church because if I read the verse of the day (Acts 4: 32-35), I notice that the believers brought the money to the apostles to honor God and what is interesting is the reaction of the apostles relative to money: in verse 35 it says that it was distributed to anyone who had need. Verse 34 is most surprising because it says: "THERE WERE NO NEEDY PERSONS AMONG THEM". In other words, there was no poor among them !! Is this normal? Can we help each other today so that there are no more poor people in the church?
If you go throughout the bible, you will discover that God has always had a lot of compassion for the poor and Jesus took care of them a lot. He received many gifts (Luke 8: 2-3), but he spent the money to help the poor. Even when he told the rich young man to sell all he possessed, he was asked to give the money to the poor. What bothers me is that the poor are no longer a priority in Church. It is not easy to notice in the Western churches but the fact is that in all the churches of the world there are poor people even though Africa beats the record.
Today the poor are not allowed to participate in some Christian meetings that could benefit them simply because the right to enter is very expensive. The door is closed to them because of their poverty.
Here is my question: Is there at least one poor (widow, orphan or homeless) who thank God for your help? A poor person does not need rich people but he needs your support to see the love of God. If you get some income every month, you are supposed to help at least one poor every month.
Have a great day
Chris Ndikumana
