God's Church

-"Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."-Acts 2: 43-47

Isn't this a pretty picture?  This is Luke zooming out, giving us the bird's eye view of the early church.  No speeches here or individual stories, just a family portrait, of sorts, that shows the Church of Jesus Christ in its infancy.  And just look at it!  The Spirit was present with everyone, and the apostles were wandering around doing miracles.  They gathered at the Temple in Jerusalem for worship and they shared all their wealth, so none were in need.  They ate together, worshiped together, and praised God.  It is the picture of the perfect church.  And also a church that none of us have really experienced.

For most of its history, the Church has not looked like this.  Instead, it has been beset by schisms, controversies, and sin.  It has made mistakes large and small; ostracized its adherents and split into a thousand different branches.  The Church, for most of its history, has borne little resemblance to the Church described in its infancy by Luke.  So why not take this picture that Luke paints for what it is, an idealized outlier of a grand movement in its infancy; a mirage; a sad look back on bygone days?  Well, the reason we continue to look at it is not because this portrait shows us what the church is, but because it shows us what it ought to be, who we ought to be.  When we get it right as followers of Jesus, we look like this.  We share with one another, we love one another, and we do awesome things through the power of the Spirit. This early portrait is not a sad look back on bygone days, it is our aspiration.

Prayer:  Holy God, help me to work in your church, that it might resemble your vision.  Help me to love my brothers and sisters, be ardent in my worship and faithful in my praise.  Help me to treat my fellow disciples with selfless love.  I pray in the name of Jesus the Christ.  Amen.

[Phillip Blackburn, First Presbyterian]