Benevolence

God has been doing a lot the last couple of days to remind me about benevolence.

There are always people in the community who are struggling terribly with life, finances, stress and time. The Christian community must earn its stripes in how it responds and deals with the real life needs of its members.

This is exactly what made the church in Acts chapter 2 so special. It is also what caused problems with the same church in Acts chapter 6. The day to day needs of Christ Followers will always ebb and flow. As a result, the church must position itself so that it doesn’t overlook these needs in the zeal to rush forward. Rather, it must be able to live in the tension between meeting needs and moving forward.

May we learn to do unto others as we would have them do unto us with the basic needs of real life (benevolence). May we show each other love and patience even if it means sacrifice and the prolonging of vision.