Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
The early chapters of Acts are an idyllic view of Christian life before all of the stonings and beatings and executions start happening later on. Peter, Paul, and the other disciples help the Jewish believers and later the Gentiles grow in their faith before being sent out to do the work of Christian living: selling their possessions, breaking bread together, and taking care of one another in community. When we read through the book of Acts, we tend to focus on the exciting miracles performed by the main characters, but throughout the jailbreaks and healings, the daily work is in charity and fellowship. The people may have been awestruck by the signs and wonders, but their goodwill came from the glad and generous hearts of the believers.
Likewise, our daily work should be in generosity and fellowship, not in attempting to work miracles and filling spectators with awe. It’s hard to give things away! It’s really hard to be patient with annoying people! We would all like to stand in front of a big crowd and perform a miraculous deed, but the truth is that God calls most of us to work in obscurity, doing irritating jobs like forgiving jerks and making sacrifices. It sounds boring, but many Christians were martyred for these actions!
Peter Preaching at Pentecost, Benjamin West, 1800
