Acts 2:43-47 (The Message)
Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
This evening at home church, we discussed these verses, and how it would apply to us as the modern church. I really feel that with the world around us as well as all the technology that we use to communicate these days, we are really missing the essence of these verses.
Even though this section can almost be misconstrued as the basis for communism, which it obviously is not, these early Christians really went out of their way to accommodate each other, by selling all their possessions and sharing everything equally. In the world today, we are so indoctrinated to focus on ourselves, and what material things we can accumulate for ourselves, that we are missing each other.
One shock I had tonight was the fact that for 2 of the 5 families present at the house church, I only know what is going on in 2 other families’ lives, other than myself, obviously.
This was quite a shock for me, as we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and yet we manage to live on a ‘howdy’ basis. By this I mean that we will ask each other how they are doing, not really being interressted in the answer, and the other person knowing this, will say things are OK.
I believe we need to go and sit down with ourselves and God, and get rid of this mentality of saying ‘howdy’ and really get back to caring. We need to get the love for other people, and not just some, all people, that Jesus had for us. He gave His life for us on the cross, even though we definitely didn’t deserve it.
Start with the people around you, and start to really care. Don’t just say ‘howdy’ but really take time to find out what the person sitting next to you at work have going on in his/her life.
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
