Acts 4:32 – Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
Psychologist David Caruso wrote in The Atlantic, “American culture demands that the answer to the question “How are you?” is not just “good,” but sometimes “great.” “Okay” means I’m deeply troubled and there’s things I want to talk about but you’re not actually even asking me that question. It’s more of a greeting. It’s polite.” As a society, we are often too busy or too uninterested to interact more deeply. As Christians, our relationships must be much more than this. True Christianity demands a deeper level of intimacy. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)
Author Jia Jiang proposes “the question that can likely predict whether you will be alive and happy at age 80. “Is there someone in your life whom you would feel comfortable phoning at 4 in the morning to tell your troubles to?”” This is the type of relationships we should be striving for in the church. Spending time together and developing meaningful relationships like the 1st century church that is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. The bond we share in Christ should unite us, as it did them.
William Rawlings of Ohio University says we have “3 expectations of a close friend: somebody to talk to, someone to depend on, and someone to enjoy.” We should find all of these in our Christian brothers and sisters. We should be striving to have a deep love for one another, the agape love of I Corinthians 13, that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”, a love that “never fails.” It’s strong and it’s deep. It doesn’t give up on people, or write them off. It allows us to “be patient” with one another, and to bear “one another in love.” It’s the bond of a family that connects us together and connects us to Christ.
