Be Still: Daily Encouragement for MomsНамуна

A New Community

All the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. -Acts 2:44

My friend Carrie’s five-year-old daughter, Maija, has an interesting approach to playtime. She loves mixing dolls from different playsets to create a new community. In the world of her imagination, everything belongs together. These are her people. She believes they’re happiest when together despite their different sizes and shapes.

Her creativity reminds me of God’s purpose for the church. On the day of Pentecost, Luke tells us, “At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem” (ACTS 2:5). Though these people were from different cultures and spoke different languages, the Holy Spirit’s arrival made them a new community: the church. From then on, they would be considered one body, unified by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The leaders of this new body were a group of men Jesus brought together during His time on earth—His disciples. More than likely, if Jesus hadn’t united them, they would never have come together. And now more people—“about 3,000” (2:41)—had become believers in Jesus. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, this once-divided group “shared everything” (V. 44). They were willing to share what they had with each other.

The Holy Spirit continues to bridge the gaps between people groups. We might not always get along nor readily understand one another, but as believers in Christ, we belong together.

LINDA WASHINGTON

How has the Holy Spirit made it possible for you to love other believers better? How can you share with those who are in need today?

Holy Spirit, please fill me and help me to live in unity with other believers and share generously with them.