Sharing

YES, I have a truck;
NO, I will not help you move.

Ironically, I was following a pick-up truck with this bumper sticker just a couple of hours ago. Doubly ironic, I think. First of all, there was an "ichthys" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys) Jesus fish emblem just about the bumper sticker. I assume the driver is a Christian, yet, perhaps, he doesn't see the responsibility of sharing as one that is Christian. I don't know, but it is definitely ironic in light of some parts of Scripture like, "All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other."

I remembered hearing about a group of Christians living in the same general neighborhood. One bought a lawnmower, which he shared with the other three or four Christian friends. Another of them bought a weed-eater, also shared among them. Another bought some other purposefully shared tool, and so on. Imagine how much less expense and clutter for them. Imagine how much more interaction and encouragement they received from one another.

I also remembered something that happened only just today. Yesterday, a man and his wife, in tears, told our Bible class that their home would be foreclosed this week and that they must move out. So, today, a group of us showed up and loaded a moving truck and shared out other items: lawn care equipment and bicycles to one friend's house, washer, dryer, and refrigerator to another's. There was a fair amount of laughing and teasing each other even while we were sweating. One friend was prepared share and be generous with water bottles. Every bit of help was done in love and even joy and gratitude. Working together with the particular men and women I was working with today made it seem less like work and more like . . . a sense of communion.