Unity

“Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.”

Acts 2:43

                How many times have I read this and simply mashed ‘fear,’ ‘signs,’ and ‘wonders’ into one hodge-podge of indistinguishable mishmash? In my mind, I always assumed that the fear, or awe, came as a result of the signs and wonders. But that’s not how the verse reads. It actually begins with “Then fear,” indicating that the fear was a result of what happened in the proceeding verses.

                Jerusalem was filled with devout men, gathered from every nation under heaven, presumably for the feast of Pentacost. Suddenly a sound, like a mighty rushing wind is heard. A confusion ensues and in the midst of it, each man hears their own language being spoken by a small group of men in an unimportant house. More surprising though, was that these were not learned men, scholars or rabbis; they were Galilean carp catchers!

                Peter begins to open up the Scriptures and speak of Messiah’s death and resurrection for the sins of humanity. The hearts of men from every nation under heaven were cut and people began responding to the gospel. Three thousand people responded to the gospel. Coming back to the original verse, when these three thousand people from every nation under heaven began worshiping God and fellowshipping together, then awe came upon every soul.

                Today, the church is so divided by ethnic barriers, denominational names, music preferences, age-related differences, petty disputes and a million other non-salvific issues. What on earth would happen for heaven’s sake in the heart of the church and in the world if believers would take up the mantle of the first century Christians, laid aside their minor differences, put to death their pride and worshipped God in spirit and truth and fellowshipped as one, just as Christ and the Father are One? What would happen if I laid down my ego and selfishness, thought more of others than I do of myself and committed myself to the worship and work of God? Maybe the Spirit of God would begin pulsing through the veins of the church again and the world would marvel at the wondrous work of God alive in His people.

Application: Today I will pray for true unity and single mindedness in the Body of Christ, and what my part in that picture looks like.