Fare well?

Acts 4:32-35 (New Living Translation)

The Believers Share Their Possessions

32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.
33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.
34-35 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

This is one of the most amazing Bible passages describing the Body of Christ (The Church). They had one aim and walked as one, directed by God, to serve His purpose and spread the Gospel. If they saw a need they met it with their own means. This was God's Word in action and they had His favor.

Things are much different for the church of today. This passage no longer seems relevant because of our fast food style of religion. You can drive in to each outlet and have it your way. Most of the menu is overladen with sugar, has no real substance and is detrimental to your health and well being. If you are truly needy, from the governments perspective, they even have welfare programs. Unfortunately, they never seem to lift a person any higher than where they started initially, but at least they're doing something.

Don't get me wrong, we all play a part in this and at some point we stopped doing our job. The truth is that before we had welfare we had The Church and it worked on the basis of "see a need and meet it". They were of one heart, acknowledged God's ownership, shared as the need arose and had His favor. This is what kept The Body of Christ healthy, and it still does.

I chose the word farewell for my title because it's an old english term that literally means to travel with favor. That's what The Church had, God's favor.

So tell me, in this life do you fare well?