Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through
the apostles. 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. And day by day,
attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they
received their food with glad and generous hearts,praising
God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their
number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 4:32-33 (ESV)
Now the full number of those who believed were
of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that
belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And
with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
There are both tremendous opportunity yet terrifying dangers for
a disciple of Jesus in a complement.
The early church of Jerusalem, described for us in the book of
Acts, was a gathering known for amazing things. Interestingly, they would have
earned “favor with all the people” (2:47) without having the luxuries that
local churches typically have today. They won their reputation not by buildings
or in programs but by how their behavior changed individually and by how they
ministered in smaller groups. The unity of what they believed and consistently
proclaimed, not to mention in what they sacrificed daily, impacted those around
them and ultimately attracted them to Christ like magnets to a refrigerator. If
there was a complement to be offered, more so than at any other time in the
history of the church it would’ve been God receiving credit for all that was
happening.
Much has changed along these lines. So often we hear complements
directed at the disciple or the local church and not to the Head of both. “He
is such a good person,” or “She sacrifices so much of her time,” or “That
church cares so much for the poor.” Of course, we hear and often deserve our
fair share of criticism, and how we handle that is important as well, but I
wonder if we don’t create more inherent damage to our ability to fulfill our
mission by how we handle complements than how we manage criticism. You see,
going back to the early church, the power displayed through the testimony of
the apostles, as our example, wasn’t apparent because the apostles were
brilliant speakers. Theirs was not powerful testimony because of what
personality each brought to the delivery of the message. Their testimony of
Jesus’ resurrection was powerful because of the message itself, for one, but
especially because “great grace was upon them all,” a working grace bestowed by
our Father to add dynamic, Spirit-filled power to their efforts of faithful
energy. This is why when the word of the Lord goes forth it does not return
fruitlessly without impact (Isaiah 55:11). This is why the devotion and
servanthood of the early church produced such awe and good favor. This is why
today truly great and powerful things can still be done in the name of Jesus by
us who are his. The answer is God’s great, working grace, and if there is
credit to be given for power and impact in ministry it better go to him.
Would you be willing to share how you handle complements,
beloved, especially as they relate to your service unto our Father? This is a
more important subject than others might suspect. It may seem that complements
to us are harmless encouragers, and indeed we can use the encouragement in our
faith journeys. The line to be crossed in taking credit for things God is
actually doing, though, is a pretty fine one. Take caution, for God is zealous
about the glory that belongs only to him (Isaiah 42:8).
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