v 32. All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.
Here is another appropriate mind-set for a follower of Jesus; ‘I don’t really own anything, so I’m willing to share everything with others.’ It is the precise opposite of the outlook that wants to hoard everything just in case it might one day be useful.
I guess most of us are willing to share things with our immediate family. You’ve got a hedge trimmer, and your son needs one for his hedge right now, so you share it with him. Of course you do – no problem! Or your daughter needs the heated trolley lurking at the back of the garage for a party; will you let her have it? Of course – you wouldn’t dream of saying no.
In fact, you might even consider giving both of these items to the family for them to keep. They are more likely to need them than you are. (We are talking about a functioning family here, not a divided, suspicious one.)
These early followers of Jesus in Jerusalem had been so radically transformed by their faith-commitment that they saw other believers as part of a new family within which everything could and should be gladly shared. It is a mind-set of giving rather than grasping. It springs from the realisation that Jesus generously gave himself for me, and so because of my relationship with him I am willing to give generously to help others in the Christian family. It is an outlook that acknowledges that I own nothing, but am simply a steward – one who looks after – the many good things my heavenly Father has entrusted to me for this short spell of life on earth.