Connecting Point: The Strands of Grace

I would liken grace to a nicely knitted lifeline, that which saves us from our sin and self. Grace encompasses many virtuous strands such as love, mercy, forgiveness, humility, self-sacrifice, and more. Another virtue that the Bible ties to grace are generosity. God is the one who extends His grace to us so that we can practice sharing grace with others.

Our radical generosity reflects God’s radical generosity. The early church practiced generosity remarkably Acts 4:32-35, “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. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

Understand grace is action, not just words. God didn’t just express His love for us, he demonstrated it through Jesus. The more one walks with Jesus the more one grows in these virtues, at least that’s the entire point of the Gospel changing our lives.

Theologian James Boice said, “This unity is not conformity, where everybody is exactly alike. It is not organizational, where everyone must be forced into the same denomination. The worst times in the history of the church have been when everyone has been part of one large organization. It is not that kind of a unity.” In the original Greek koinonia “in common” (KJV) refers to how the believers adopted the mindset that their possessions weren’t their own is the key to understanding generosity. A grace mindset says it’s not mine; everything belongs to God so I can bless others.

Some describe Acts 4 as communism which is utterly false, communism is understood as “’What is yours is mine; I’ll take it.’ Koinonia says, ‘What is mine is yours, I’ll share it,’” (LaSor). The early church made an impact because needs were met on a regular basis, and more grace was in action. Another valuable lesson includes; grace transforms us from being self-centered to others-centered. How can I bless another person? One of my responsibilities as a pastor is to teach/preach Biblical truth. Grace is tied closely to generosity. No pastor can make you into a cheerful giver, that responsibility lies in your own hand and heart. When God’s grace is at work in our lives we excel in the grace of giving, like that of the Macedonians described in 2 Corinthians 8. Paul said, “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.”

Here’s a sincere test: Is there a reasonable portion of your spending that blesses others, giving that assists in God’s work? The Bible clearly tells us that generosity is one of the many strands of grace; let’s weave that into our daily lives.