“Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”  (Acts 4:32-35)  Well now, isn’t that interesting?  What do we do with this text?  Are we to believe as some have that this is an early endorsement of communism?  Probably not, because to the best of our knowledge no other early church endorsed the common ownership of property.  Furthermore, one of the next things we hear about the Jerusalem church is the offering that Paul is taking up for them.  (see Acts 20 and II Corinthians 8)  So, we probably don’t have any endorsement of a particular economic plan.  Instead what we discover in our text is a community of Christians who are so overcome by the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit, that all else pales in comparison.  Here we see a group of Christians who no longer “claim private ownership” because they believe in something even more radical: the resurrected Lord who both owns and loves them has bought them all for a price.  How much more willing to share would I be if I allowed Jesus to keep that front and central before me?  How about you?