As the focus of our WARM programme is now on the aspect of ministering one to another it would be good to consider how to do this.

We can learn much about this from the early Christians. Two important centres of Christianity developed early in the first century. A thriving church started at Jerusalem after the Holy Spirit came upon the Jewish disciples at Pentecost. At Antioch a thriving Church arose as a result of Greek-speaking Christians fleeing from the persecution in Jerusalem. By God’s grace, many Gentiles there were converted, and soon it became another thriving church. Although they were about 640 km apart and culturally very different from each other, the Christians in these two churches were spiritually bound together by sharing the same Lord and Saviour.

This was demonstrated well through an event recorded in Acts 11:27-30 – "And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea."

What caused the church at Antioch to send relief to Judaea? A clue is found in the terms used to describe believers: "the disciples" and "the brethren." Instead of using the term "disciples" twice (which would have been more consistent) the writer used the term "brethren" which conveys the idea of family relationship. What made the disciples at Antioch so willing to help is that they regarded the disciples at Jerusalem as their own brothers and sisters, belonging to the same family. And they did this even though they hardly knew the disciples at Jerusalem personally.

There is an important lesson in this: In order to actively minister one to another in church we must first overcome whatever feelings of ‘strangeness’ we have that arise from our social and cultural differences. As long as we are in Christ, we really belong to one family. We should not limit our concern only to those members whom we know well or to our own circle of friends. Although other Lifers may not be as close to us in age, culture, language, or status, they are still our brothers and sisters inseparably bound to us through the precious blood of Jesus Christ! When we consider them as brethren their welfare becomes our concern, their deliverance becomes our relief; and ministering to them becomes our privilege.

The reason why the Antiochan disciples were moved to help the brethren in Judaea was the news of a great dearth that was about to come. They now knew that a time of severe famine and lack of provisions, a time of agonizing suffering and anxiety would soon befall the church at Jerusalem. And they were able to understand and feel the plight of their beloved brethren in Jerusalem. Their hearts went out to them in sympathy. But they did not stop there. They translated their sympathy into practical help by sending them what they could to provide some welcome relief. This is what is meant by the phrase, ‘Actively ministering one to another.’ Let us seek to do likewise, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

Next, we observe the manner in which they actively ministered to their brethren. According to verse 29 "every man according to his ability determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea." The words ‘every man’ inform us that no one was indifferent to the need. Everyone, no matter what his status was, seemed to have been involved in it.

In order to actively minister one to another we too must be personally involved in helping to meet the needs of others. When we hear that certain brethren in our midst are in need, we ought to respond in whatever way we can – e.g. through giving, through encouraging or through praying for them. How wonderful it is to see God’s people bearing one another’s burdens in so many different ways!

This is implied in the words ‘according to his ability’ in v.29. They tell us that each believer at the church of Antioch gave as much as he was able to give. Some who were materially blessed were able to give more. Others, who were poor, still gave a little, like the widow’s two mites (Mark 12:42). But irrespective of the amounts given, each was just as willing to help as everyone else. And there seemed to be no one who was unwilling to have a part in giving.

In a similar manner, actively ministering one to another should not be something that is done by only a small segment of our congregation. Everyone ought to be doing it, because it is an integral part of the Christian way of life. Jesus saved us in order to "purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:14) If you have no desire to love the brethren and minister to them, you may be suffering from a spiritual deficiency and you need to get right with God!

The words ‘determined to send relief’ in verse 30 tell us that each member of the Antiochan church gave seriously. They seriously undertook the responsibility of meeting the need. Their giving was not simply a token expression of help.

Sometimes we give a little token offering to someone to express our concern for his welfare. That isn’t wrong. There is a lot of good in that practice and there is a place for it. However, we should not let all our giving be token offerings. We should ask ourselves how serious we ought to be about meeting certain important needs.

These then are the three personal lessons each of us can learn from the early Christians. Let us identify closely with those who are in need. Let us give whatever we can to help them, and be serious in meeting their needs. Please remember our motto: Do something good for Jesus everyday; wherever you go, and even out of the way!

If every one of us is willing to commit himself or herself to this, I believe that we will see multiplied blessings in our church from the Lord. Who knows how many more lives will be blessed when we are all actively ministering one to another? —CS