Acts 4:33 says, “…and great grace was upon them all.”
Today grace is an overused word. Churches often use grace as part of their name. Finding myself a little confused about the word, I went to the dictionary. Webster gives 12 different meanings. The first definition is “Favor, kindness, mercy.” We might ask ourselves: “What does grace mean to me?” We might say, “When I sin God has mercy on me and shows kindness and I am still in His favor.” I suggest we ask the question differently, “What does grace mean for me?” I want grace given to me. Do I give grace to others?
The early church in Jerusalem, in the days following Pentecost, was meeting daily. Many were probably not working. It was an exciting time. There was no lack of food. Everyone shared. No one called anything their own. They had all things in common. When food ran low, someone sold their land and gave the money to the church; “…great grace was upon them all.”
My senior year in high school I decided to turn out for wrestling. I was fairly trim and strong for my size. I weighed 135 pounds. My goal was to get a letter, so that I could say I lettered in something in high school. As I practiced with the other guys, they were quick to help me. Most of them had experience and were very good. Though wrestling is an individual sport, it is also a team sport. When I made a false move, the team and coach helped me learn from it. They wanted me to win.
That is how the early church was. Everybody wanted everybody to win.
That is how the church ought to be today. I Corinthians 12:25-26 states, “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”
When Paul moves on into Chapter 13, he talks about charity along with the gifts. The gifts are not all the same, but all the gifts are important. It is easy to think our gift is more important than others— to be critical with someone not doing very well with their gift. We may think they are not needed. Like the wrestlers, we ought to help them with a team spirit, so that they can be winners in their “match.”
Paul said to covet the best gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31). He even lists them in order: “First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28).
I heard someone tell a little story about the lead pastor of the church getting up from his study, going down the hall to the prayer room, and calling out to God, “I am nothing, I am nothing, oh God.” The associate pastor heard him and went and knelt beside him and began to pray, “I am nothing, I am nothing, oh God.” Finally the janitor heard them, and went in and knelt down and began to pray, “I am nothing, I am nothing, oh God.” Then the associate turned to the lead pastor and said, “Now look who thinks they’re nothing.”
We need to have charity in the church. It is time to quit being all wrapped up in our self and our gift and stand behind our brother who is weaker. There is plenty of room in the family for everyone, as the Gaithers expressed in their song. Of all that could be said about grace, charity is how we put into action the great grace!
