I’m always so amazed at how God provides things when you don’t expect them. I know some of you saw my tweets last night or even my facebook status but for those of you who didn’t hear, this is what happened last night with a little more background to the story…
For the past few months Kim and I have been really needing to buy a new bed. You see there was this fat guy (I’m not gonna mention any names but I know who I am) who kinda jumped on our bed and broke the boxspring. The good thing was that somehow with all my years of skilled technical labor and craftsmanship I was able to fix it (alright, all I did was turn it around so the break was resting on the frame so thus masking the problem… but it got the job done OK) only to then find it broken again a few weeks later but this time at the other end. So, the box spring was done. Thats not to mention the mattress which we bought used off some friend of a friend of a friend who wore a patch over his left eye and talked like Jack Sparrow… but for $50 bucks you’re not gonna complain too much when you’re a poor newly married couple when all you had before that was a bed that I’m pretty sure was around when the Israelites were wandering in the desert. Anyway, so enough with the back story, basically we needed a bed but we didn’t have much (any) money. So we started looking at prices and sizes and all that stuff and finally found one that we might be able to afford. So, I got started on the plan to get all the things together that one needs to buy a new bed (money and a friend with a truck) and we planned to go get it sometime this week….It was all set. Well, thats not the way it exactly worked out in the end. At about 9:30 last night a couple friends (including that previously mentioned friend with a truck) just “happened to be be in the neighborhood” and wanted to see if they could “drop by for a few minutes”…. So they came, and they just so happened to have a brand spanking new bed in the back of their truck. Needless to say, I kinda freaked out a little bit. They told us that they just wanted to bless us and that was the end of it. So I did what any self respecting guy would do at that moment…. I offered them some homebaked cookies.
Anyway, it totally reminded me of the way the body of Christ was supposed to work. We have that example in Acts 2 where is says,
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
I know Kim and I feel like we experienced this kind of community last night and it is seriously so cool to see God working through our friends and feel that community and love in a tangible way. And ya know what, I can’t help but think of the last part of that passage where it says, And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved. I think thats why I just wanted to write this post. I wanna tell people that the kind of community that was going on in the book of Acts 2000 years ago among Christians is still going on now… I should know, I got a bed out of it. But seriously, I think that this is one of those unique things about Christianity and it’s also one of those things that should be so attractive to those who are outside of the church. We don’t give because we want something out of it, but instead we give because we love…. because we want to bless people’s socks off. But if we’re doing this why aren’t we seeing the people coming daily like in Acts? The community is happening but why isn’t this the way the world see us? How do they see us? And if they did see us for these things would we be seeing people added to our numbers daily?
Anyway, those are just some thoughts going through my head right now. Last night, God used my friends to bless my socks off… when was the last time when was the last time you got to bless someone’s socks off?
It’s such a beautiful story! This definitely is a great example of how the Acts church gave selflessly. The Holy Spirit leads us to do crazy, loving things like that.
My favorite way to bless people is by sneaking past them and paying for the bill when I’m at coffee shops with friends.
Most memorably, I helped a friend move from 10am-11pm on Dec. 31st, helping him pack, clean, and move. So many people said they’d help move, and only two of us showed up. I never left early, but rather at a break for dinner I called all my friends and told them I would be unable to attend their respective New Year’s Eve parties. Sweaty and dusty, we finished the move and handed the keys over at 11pm, and drove like mad, and walked into the main party at 11:50pm. To this day my friend Nick is still grateful for it (especially for cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen).
To note: I’m blessed every day by friends.
This reminds me of that one time i did something nice for somebody.
I love this story!
God used friends to bless my socks off recently, too. When I recently asked some friends to pray with me over a major financial decesion, they came through in a big way. Within two days 2 different people each handed me unsolicited checks for $250 a piece. I still can’t believe it.
Our God is an awesome God!