“The whole
congregation of believers was united as one — one heart, one mind!“ Acts 4:32 (Message)
It’s a song, a slogan, and even a
cliché. But what does being united mean
for us as a church?
The book of Acts shows the relationship
that the early Christians had with God and each other. This was a dangerous time for Christians. In fact, the first part of Acts 4 recounts
how Peter and John had just been released from jail with a warning to never
talk about Jesus again.
However, upon their release, Peter and John
went straight to the other believers and they were “united and loudly prayed to
God” asking Him to allow them to speak His word and to show His power by
healing and performing miracles in the name of Jesus.
When they finished praying, something
amazing happened! The meeting place
shook and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak
the word of God boldly bringing the good news of Jesus to thousands.
This account gives us insight into the
secret of their success: they were filled with the Holy Spirit and “the whole
congregation of believers was united as one.”
What does it mean to be “united as
one”? Unity is not the same as
uniformity and we, as Christians, still have our own personalities. However, we must be “united as one” on the
essential element of our faith--the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sharing the Gospel with others is reason for
our existence as a church!
On non-essential matters of religious
belief, we can show charity to each other because united people may have
differences of opinion regarding theological fine points. God will set us straight about these when we
reach His kingdom. Our focus must be on
the Gospel.
So God’s challenge for us today is that we
understand that our personal connection to Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit
results in unity as a church and that our unity as a church enables us to
spread the Gospel with the same strength, power and effectiveness as that of
the early church!
K.K.
Think about it: What is holding us back from being united
like the early Christians?
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