“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.” Acts 4:32
The first time I read this passage I thought, “Wow, that sounds pretty idealistic, a community that could share like that.”
IN COMMON
The word common is found in many important words: Commune, Communion, Community, Communication, Commitment, and yes, Communism . . . For your rumination this day I simply offer the idea behind all these words — BELONGING.
To whom does it belong? What belongs to us? Where do we belong?
Across the Red Dirt State there are a fantastic number of communities. I haven’t lived in Apache, Oklahoma in over 38 years, and yet I am connected, I belong. I am most familiar with the western part of the state. These communities are beautiful; they are a tapestry of hard working, caring people. It takes people to act and demonstrate the meaning of each word in my little word-bank above.
Do you have a community? Are you committed to it? Do you commune there?
Why community? The first community is the Holy Trinity. God has always existed in relationship and we are created in His image. We know there something beautiful about:
Unity – Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace Ephesians 4:2
Shared labor – Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
Harmony – And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14
Belonging – Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Corinthians 12:27
Connectivity – they had everything in common.” Acts 4:32
As we approach Easter weekend, let’s pray that church communities will come to life in a revival of sorts. The best individual revival is communion with God, through Christ, convey through the Holy Spirit. When this brings us wonderfully to our knees, I pray we can look to our left and to our right and there see others in communion too.
