Dickens began his great work, A Tale of Two Cities, with the unforgettable words, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” He was right. Sometimes the best and worst times occur simultaneously. What about our times? Which is more true of our world? More importantly, what will we do in times like these?
As the church in Antioch flourished with many new disciples who were becoming like Christ, a prophet named Agabus predicted a severe famine over the entire Roman world. The Jewish believers might have remembered the story of God’s provision for starving Israel through Joseph’s captivity in Egypt. But a church full of Gentiles might not have been familiar with the story. Still, the threat of poverty caused them to well up in generosity, for the sake of others.
Mulholland defined Christian spiritual formation as, “the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and the sake of others (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).” These early believers in Antioch cared deeply about the believers back in Jerusalem, so they gave according to their ability. Not only did they decide to give, but they followed through. They entrusted the gift to the elders of Jerusalem through Barnabas and Saul.
In our bad news world, we can still be the messengers of good news. When we take care of each other and outsiders, we confirm the truth of our Christianity. Our Savior so loved the world. So, then, should we? One man came upon a person who had walked out of the grocery store and accidentally dropped eggs. The shattered shells paralyzed the gathering crowd. All agreed it was such a shame, such a waste. A passerby stepped into the situation, pulled money out of his wallet, and said, “I care this much. How much do you care?” We come from a long line of givers, going back to the great Giver himself. This is good news in the worst of times.
