“James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars,
gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the
grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to
the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the
poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”
Galatians 2:9-10
Paul, James, Peter and John had a meeting.
Paul had gone to the leadership in Jerusalem and they
recognized God’s hand in his work and calling.
They extended the right hand of fellowship and not the
‘left foot of ostracism’!
They essentially endorsed what God was doing through
Paul among the Gentiles.
It is essential to note that their discussion included
remembering the poor.
This is no light matter for the church.
It wasn’t then nor should it be now.
We are called to include in our ministry those less
fortunate than us and the placement of this verse at such a pivotal point of
the early churches formation should only serve to emphasize this point to us.
Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us
so this was not a 1st century assignment only that we are free to
ignore in the 21st century church.
Some today eagerly preach the Gospel and ignore the
poor while others have a ‘social Gospel’ that is quick to minister to the poor
but ‘forgetting’ to preach the Gospel.
A true believer will do (and live) both!
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