No One Wins Alone in God's Family

Pelé: “No individual can win a game by himself.”

Pelé had amazing soccer skills, but never forgot that his success was tied to his team’s success. Early Christians outlived the mighty Roman Empire’s hostility as a community, not a set of solitary superstars. Acts said the community was so committed that “none of them would say, ‘This is mine!’ about any of their possessions.” Those who owned property sold it to meet others’ needs. “There were no needy persons among them.” This wasn’t imposed socialism—it was love flowing freely from changed hearts. 1 Corinthians 12 called the church “the body of Christ.” The image rings true—if you’ve ever had an aching tooth or bad back, you know physically that “if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.” Paul said that’s how it is—and how it needs to be—in the body of Christ.

• “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it,” Paul wrote. Have you ever seen a community—church, family, team—that came close to living that way? Do you find one part of this easier—suffering with someone else, or celebrating when someone else gets the glory? What makes the other part harder for you?
• Acts said these Christians were “one in heart and mind”—yet study their story, and you’ll find they didn’t always agree or do the same things! Christians can disagree about secondary matters while being “one in heart” about Christ. Scholar William Barclay noted that “in the body there is no question of relative importances. If any limb or any organ ceases to function, the whole body is thrown out of gear.” * How much spiritual power could be released if Christians at Resurrection and beyond became more fully of “one heart”? How might you work with God toward that end?