What if I Had Given Everything: Part II

 As I've been thinking and praying about what it means to give everything for Christ, I feel like the best place to start is in the Church.  God has a clear design for His people and His church, and I feel like too frequently, we completely lose sight of what that design is.  And so, I have begun to read through the book of Acts and am trying to study the early church.  Unfortunately, what I see is that the church is failing in one of it's most important commands: to love one another with a sacrificial love. 

And believe me, I am referring to myself first and foremost!  It seems like so often I find myself caught up in the busyness of life.  I find myself completely consumed with myself and my own little world.  I spend day after day taking care of babies, cleaning the house, cooking dinner, blogging, taking pictures, planting flowers, reading magazines, catching up on my favorite shows, etc.  Suddenly, a month has gone by and I have not spent any time at all investing in the lives of others.  It becomes so easy to only be concerned with myself.  My children.  My family.

Is this really what God has planned for me as a believer?  Yes, my family is important.  And yes, my husband and children come before a lot of other things.  But what about my brothers and sisters in Christ?  Are we to merely go about our lives, completely independent of one another, only to come together for worship on Sunday mornings?  Then are we to smile happily at one another and pretend like everything is ok?  Like we have it all together?  Are the worries and struggles and fears of others simply not my concern?

Of course not!  There are so many places in scripture that speak to how we are to treat each other, and how we are to live our lives, but what I am focusing on right now is Acts chapter 2. 

⁴⁴ "And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."

These believers were so overjoyed and in awe of what God had done, that they sacrificed whatever they needed to in order to help each other.  They shared everything they had with whoever needed it.  They worshiped together every day, and shared meals together, "all the while, praising God."  They put their own selfishness and desires aside and did everything for the glory of God!  And what was the result?  "Each day, the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."  People were being saved!

I hate to think that church has simply become the "thing to do" on Sunday mornings.  And I really hate to think that there are lost and dying people out there in desperate need of the truth, in need of a loving, sacrificing church family, only to find one big charade week after week.  I have seen the devastating affect this can have on people, and I do NOT want to be the cause of anyone else giving up on what God's people could be, if we would only give up our selfish ways, and live out the truths of scripture.   

²² "throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."   Ephesians 4:22-24