Text: Acts 6.1-7
Early church leaders were torn with a serious choice: devote their time to spreading the word of Christ or ensure all Christian widows have enough food. While Jesus’ last command (Matthew 28.18-20) is to spread the Gospel and teach, he also commands loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12.31).
While neither the Gospels nor New Testament were written yet, these leaders (who would later write the Gospels) had the advantage of living with Jesus. They knew that to give the majority of their time tending to the churches’ physical needs, instead of sharing and teaching Jesus’ words, would be a poor decision.
Instead, they appoint seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom—to help meet these physical needs—while they share Christ’s words (Acts 6.5-6). These two facets of the church working in tandem allow God’s power to be unleashed and the number of Jesus followers to increase greatly.
As you go before God today, think about what would’ve been lost if the early church had chosen to follow only one of these commands. Make two lists: one being the dangers of being devoted only to God’s Word and the other to only doing good deeds. Use this list to evaluate your service to the person you’re looking out for by asking this week’s One Big Question . . . How does my service to others reflect Jesus’ commands to spread the Gospel and love your neighbor as yourself?
