The Book of Acts: Turn Your World Upside DownSample

Today’s Devotional:

I’ve heard it said, “If you find a perfect church, don’t join it because you’ll ruin it.” It’s a funny reminder that God’s Church is full of imperfect humans who don’t always get it right or see eye-to-eye. As we read in Acts 15, we see the early Church faced many challenges and disagreements, just as we do today—yet they still found a way to move forward and fulfill their mission.

Many of us are so scared of conflict that we run at the first sign of it. We fail to realize that conflict is an opportunity for unity—and an opportunity to go deeper in our relationships. The strongest relationships are not the ones that remain safely at the surface but the ones that weather the storms of disagreement and find a way to honor one another through their differences.

If we remember back to Acts chapter 9 when Saul (who became Paul) encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. The ascended Christ said to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Notice Jesus didn’t say, “Why do you persecute my church?” or “Why do you persecute my people?” All throughout Scripture, God connects our love for Him with our love for others. And here, it seems the opposite applies as well. Paul wasn’t just persecuting Christians—He was persecuting Christ. After Paul’s transformation, it’s easy to see it wasn’t just Paul’s affection toward Jesus that shifted. It was also his affection toward His Church. Becoming a friend of Jesus went hand-in-hand with becoming a friend of His people.

However, Paul’s journey of learning to love God’s people wasn’t always smooth sailing. In Acts 15, we see a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark. The Bible doesn’t leave out their humanity or the fact that even the godliest individuals sometimes see things differently. But *spoiler alert* we know that Paul later reconciled with both Barnabas and John Mark because he mentioned them both positively in his letters (1 Corinthians 9:6; 2 Timothy 4:11). We often think about repentance as changed actions, but it is also about changing our minds. The Greek word metanoia means “to change one’s mind.” Somehow, these godly leaders found a way to change their minds and focus on their common mission rather than their differences. Instead of spreading gossip, they spread the gospel. Instead of allowing bitterness to grow, they laid that aside so the Church could grow.

When it comes to the differences or offenses that might arise, are you willing to change your mind? We can fight to be right, or we can unite. Or, we can keep looking for that perfect church we’ll ruin once we walk through the door.

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Today’s devotional was written by Melissa Miller.

Questions to Consider:

• In what ways might you need to change your mind—not to think exactly like someone else—but to choose a bigger mission and goal of unity?
• How is the way we love others linked to our love for God?

Prayer:

God, thank you for inviting me to deepen my relationships through conflict. Help me not run from it but see it as an opportunity for unity—to show the world a greater example of love, your love. Amen.