Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 4:33, “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”
Nothing short of fascinating could be used to describe the very early church. Persecution and threats were attacking it at its core, yet the leaders were unabashed in their persistence to spread the news of the Risen Savior. Moreover, the growing church, at this point in Acts having several thousand in its fold, had such unity of mind and purpose that the new converts were selling their possessions, even to the extreme of land and houses, and entrusting their proceeds to the leaders of the church. Now, even for the most biblical and evangelical of us, this sense of communal living and forfeiture of rights and ownership can make us feel uncomfortable. But beyond all of these aspects that seem light years from our current church scenario, even more fascinating is the little statement inserted here by Luke that great grace was upon them all. Surely nothing short of God’s grace was making everything possible that was being accomplished and endured, but what of the phrase “great grace?” Just as back in the recording of creation, when God went from declaring His work “good” to “very good,” I wonder How His essence, both of goodness and grace, can be, and then be even more. What is it like to go from experiencing God’s grace to flourishing in His great grace? How does He make things good and then go to very good? For, as one pastor said, when God declares something good, it’s as good as God.
So maybe these extreme versions of God’s benevolence are hinting at the larger picture as much as they are indicative of the thing they are describing. Maybe “great grace” and “very good” intend to tell us that God’s purposes were so precisely being carried out that all glory was being directed back to God from whom it came. What man and nature didn’t realize was it was all going to get ruined very soon. What the early church didn’t realize was that very soon they would be scattered, and the use of houses and land would become somewhat irrelevant. Grace is good. But if great grace means we are in the center of the infinite will of God Almighty, then let’s be willing to do and say and go and give up whatever it requires to share in this blessing.
As we seek Him today, ask God about His great grace. Examine your heart to see where you might be a little off center from God’s directive.
Have a dynamite Tuesday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
