Parts of a Whole

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

When I think of church, this is the passage that comes to my mind first. I know there are many others and I plan to bring those up as well, but I wanted to start here. I could write so much about this passage and the ways I fail to do what it says, and hopefully I will, but what I want to focus on right now is what it doesn’t say.

It doesn’t say, “And they jumped around from church to church until they found the right combination of music they like, preaching that makes them feel good, people that treat them the best and make them feel important, good snacks, free meals, little to no accountability and challenge, energetic and entertaining children’s ministry, and comfortable seats.” Sometimes I think this is what we think church should be.

Did you notice that the word “comfortable” is never mentioned? Neither is popular, easy, feel-good, or status. Maybe it’s the translation. I don’t know Greek, so I can’t say for sure. It seems to me, though, that our comfort and status aren’t high on God’s priority list when it comes to building the church. Is this because He wants us to be miserable and unhappy? Please don’t make me answer that ridiculous question.

I think it’s because God knows that our comfort, our feelings, and our status are all fleeting. They are based on things that don’t last. God isn’t interested in building a temporary establishment. He is interested in building an eternal Kingdom. He is interested in His glory. People bouncing from place to place and ministry to ministry trying to satisfy shallow needs and make themselves look and feel good does not bring God glory or grow His eternal Kingdom. Servants dedicated to their loving Heavenly Father and to loving and serving His Body does.

You know what this passage does say? “…all who believed were together and had all things in common,” and “…the Lord added to their number…” This makes me believe that the Lord had Luke place the emphasis on the group, the Body, rather than the individual, which makes sense because we, the Church, are the Body. We are parts that serve together to make up a whole.

God is a personal God. He made us each uniquely and He loves us with a unique love. He also created us to be built together into something beautiful, strong, functional, and amazing. He created us to be parts of a whole – parts of a Body with Christ as the head. We are created for community. (It would be really hard for even someone who doesn’t believe in God to argue that human nature doesn’t naturally/automatically move toward community.) This is why I think Luke emphasized the group rather than any one individual in this description of the early church. Maybe if we spent more time viewing ourselves as (an important) part of a beautiful Body, we wouldn’t have enough time to worry about our “needs” and whether or not the church is “meeting” them.

Scriptures to look at from my rambling: Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:1-8, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:1-16, Colossians 1:17-18, 1 Peter 2: 4-5