Meditate: Acts 2:44
Now imagine living in a family where the children go to the fridge, writing their name on food, saying “mine!” about things their parents provide. (Does this hit too close to home for anyone?) There may be the occasional “treat” for an individual child and in that case, ownership isn’t unfair. (Although I seem to recall that it’s a bad idea to taunt your brothers with a treat…)
The parents’ goal is just to ensure the family gets fed. Those are the family’s groceries stored in that pantry. It doesn’t matter who picked it out at the store or who carried it in from the car or who unpacked it and put it away… Just let dear little Reginald get possessive about the milk and cornflakes and someone’s going to provide him some solid insight on family life.
Two things need to be understood here.
One, any one of us only has anything because God has provided it; and
Two, while God can make manna fall out of the sky, most often He chooses to meet needs by more conventional means.
Like entrusting one or more of His children with the resources that would take care of the situation. He’s trusting that they don’t look at His gifts and say, “Mine!” and neglect the needs around them. When any of us gets possessive about what God has provided, it hurts all of us.
These believers knew that real families don’t hold out on one another. And they just assumed that it would be no different with God’s family.
- Am I holding out on God’s family?
Pray:
Father, Give me Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know You better. Open the eyes of my heart in order that I may know the hope to which You have called me, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe.
Digging Deeper: Nehemiah 5
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