The argument that never fails

I’ve been thinking this week about something I suspect most of us have felt at some point.

You’re in a conversation with someone who isn’t a believer. You’re searching for the right thing to say - the perfect angle, the argument that will finally make it all click for them. And somehow, no matter how well you explain it, it doesn’t quite land.

I’ve been there more times than I can count.

Here’s what I’ve been sitting with from Acts 4 this week. The early church - just a few hundred people in Jerusalem - weren’t changing the world through brilliant debate. They were changing it because of how they lived together. The text says quite simply that there were no needy people among them. Nobody falling through the cracks. Nobody invisible. When someone had more than enough, they shared.

And people were watching.

The pagan world around them - people with no faith at all - kept saying the same thing: “See how they love one another.”

Not, “See how well they argue.” Not, “What a compelling theological case.” Just... love.

Jesus had told his friends this would happen. In John 13, the night before his arrest, he said: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

I find that both relieving and challenging in equal measure. Relieving, because I don’t have to win every argument. Challenging, because love is much harder to fake than a good answer.

In today’s devotional I dig into three pictures of what that generosity actually looked like in the early church - and one honest question to carry with you into the week.

You can watch it here:

See you tomorrow for Day 6 - and it’s a good one.

Rob

Read this week’s devotionals here - https://open.substack.com/pub/battledrilldevotional/p/what-if-generosity-isnt-about-money?r=643q6o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true