Devotion #4: The Beautiful Gathering
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 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 - 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.” Acts 2:42-47 (NLT)
The world around us is becoming so much more divided than we ever have been. We have lost the ability to disagree and still care for each other. When disagreements arise in the world around you, you are considered not just wrong, but morally wrong. Disagreements today mean that you may lose a job, face public attacks, or lose relationships. People who you thought loved and cared for you will cancel you in a minute. It is a sad state of affairs.
While I pray that you will not experience something like this, I am sure that some of you reading this have. Ultimately, none of this should surprise us. Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world and that we should expect it. He also said that He has overcome the world and we can take heart in Him (John 16:33).
How will you respond in times of disagreement and potential personal attack? How have you responded? It can be really easy to get frustrated, angry, and attack-minded. It can also be just as easy to turn inward, not share anything of yourself with anyone, and try to protect yourself from any further pain. I am tempted to respond in both ways at the same time when this occurs in my life.
Where can we learn how God would have us respond in days like this? How can we learn to love our neighbor when that neighbor wants to demean, demoralize, and destroy us?
We gather together as the Church.
We gather together to worship our God. Why do we do this? It is to get our focus off of all of the stuff that is happening around us, to us, and through us in order to see the God that holds it all. We come to be reminded of Who is actually in control and realize that He holds us. This is not about numbing the pain in our lives. It is about remembering what reality is. God is in control, and He loves us. He is worthy of my worship, and worship redirects my gaze back to Him.
We gather together to look more like Jesus. We learn how to react to people and circumstances like He did. We do this as we wrestle with the things we face together. When we share our burdens together, we have the opportunity to hear from different perspectives, and God uses those people in our lives to mold us and shape us. We learn to love as Jesus did and share that love in the Church and in the world.
I just love it when the church gathers together. I truly believe that there is nothing like it in any other place, organization, club, or whatever else there is in the world. What a beautiful place the Church is. It is such a mosaic of people that we would probably never know because of our common need for a Savior and the Savior that we share, Who has pulled us from each of our pits.
We gather to worship. We gather to learn how to reach people for Jesus. We gather to grow in our walks with Jesus. None of us is perfect, but we gather to worship the One who is.
What a beautiful thing that is.