How much do you love Jesus? You might read a verse or two a day, you might fire some quick prayers to our Heavenly Father throughout the day, you might even come to church every Sunday and serve in some capacity during the week. But the number one way to determine how much you are devoted to Jesus and His mission is the way that you spend your time and your money.
The early church was so devoted to Jesus that they shared everything they had and gave everything else away. Acts 2:44-45 says, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” They were so in love with Jesus that they were willing to give whatever it took to see His love and His mission here on earth.
It’s important to note that, while this shared generosity was a bold step of faith, it was voluntary, temporary, and flawed. The early church willingly – without any coercion – shared everything they had, but there’s no record of this habit lasting for a long time.
In the body of Christ, we can still operate in the blessing that Jesus has given us with, but our first choice when it comes to spending money or time shouldn’t be on our own desires or wills. We should be giving our first and best portion to our Heavenly Father out of complete devotion to His mission and character.
We are loving Jesus best when we are starting our days with Him, and we are tithing the first 10 percent of our paychecks – maybe even more. We are loving Jesus when we buy dinner for a friend who’s had a bad week. We are loving Jesus when we take an intern out to coffee. We are loving Jesus when we open our homes and our dinner tables to people who don’t have a place to belong.
Where are you spending your time? How are you spending your money? Is it glorifying your kingdom of Jesus’? Are you willing to give whatever it takes to see His kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven?
