Dead Man Walking

and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need (Acts 2:45 NKJV).

What kind of trust level are we talking about here?  Think for just a minute about selling your possessions and allowing the money to be pooled together to provide for everyone in the group.  If we are going to be completely honest with ourselves, this would be a step of gigantic proportion for most of us living in this Country, in this century, on many levels.  To name just a few – What if you have more than most people?  What if you really want to help some of the people, but not all of them?  What if you don’t really understand why?  What about the fact that you don’t really get to say what your contribution goes towards? What if you don’t have very much? 

There is a lot to consider under the surface of this quick little statement – “they sold their possessions and goods,”-  as if that were just a normal thing that required no inward battle.  I think not.  People are people and even though this was a different time and place, it would not be surprising to find that they still battled with same human tendencies and emotions that we do.  And if we don’t factor in their humanity, we will never get the full impact and power of what they did.  They actually experienced unity – the way God intended unity to be.  Not just occupying the same personal space or living a parallel life, but real unity.  An existence in which “who I am” and “what I have” is merged together into a oneness with “who you are” and “what you have.”

This unity is the bottom line goal of marriage, as expressed by the Lord in Genesis when He said, “And the two shall become one flesh.”  The idea of “one flesh” is seen most clearly in the trinity.  Three in One.  All separate, individual Persons comprising One singular unit.  And explain it away as much as you want in the egg, water, and whatever illustrations you may use, the reality of this kind of Unity is completely divine.  It can never be accomplished through the power of the human will.  It can only be accomplished when we completely surrender to the work of God’s Spirit in us.  And that takes a trust that goes beyond a mere assent to the facts of who Jesus is.  It takes a trust that is willing to lose it’s own rights, understanding, possessions, and even its own will to chose which rights, when it can’t understand, and what possessions.  The first church was able to do what they did because their level of trust was deep enough to take them to their own personal point of death.

I can clearly see today if I am trusting in God to the same degree of depth as the first church by my ability to live as a dead man walking.