“Not a Needy Person among Them”

Acts 4:34: “There was not a needy person among them.”

No one was crushed under medical bills he couldn’t pay.

No one missed a job interview because she couldn’t find a babysitter.

No one had to forfeit education because he lacked funding.

No one turned to junk food or drugs or porn out of sheer loneliness.

No one kept repeating bad choices because psychotherapy was too expensive.

No one remained in foster care because no one else would adopt.

No one was estranged from God because he had been taught terrible theology.

No one kept quiet all the time, all the time no matter what, for lack of self-respect nurtured in an affirming community.

No one failed to realize her potential on the job because of a stupid or self-absorbed manager.

No one suffered chronic illness alone without anyone else knowing or caring.

No need was left unmet.

There was not a needy person among them.

Acts 4:32: “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.”

Acts 4:32 and 4:34 are the verses on either side of the verse about preaching the resurrection, which is the focus of the previous post.

I’m thinking the concepts are related.

And I wonder what churches would look like who composed together a list of “Needs That Should Never Remain Unmet,” then covenanted together to meet those needs in their community, and then cooperated together to meet them. Not “an iPad in every backpack”-type of “need,” but true needs: those matters that, if left unmet, cripple and kill us.

What would church look like then?