All those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. (Acts 2:44-47, NASB)
Imagine a world where everyone loves everyone else, sincerely, from the heart.
Imagine a place where people speak of each other only what is true, and only what will build each other up;
- a place where everyone treats others the way they themselves want to be treated;
- a place where self-centeredness, greed, and fighting are gone;
- a place where people live each day as joined to everyone else, as part of each other, as members of one body;
- a place where gentleness and kindness are highly prized;
- a place where forgiveness, patience, and forbearance are the norm;
- a place where need is no more, since each person shares what they have, freely and unafraid;
- a place where everything, everything is done in love.
Wouldn’t you like to live in such a place? That’s the kind of world our Creator is building. And that’s the kind of life He wants for you. He wants to grow it in you. He wants to help you live such love in your home, on your job, in your neighborhood, among your friends. And He wants to start today.
But how could anyone live such a life in this world of greed and brute force? What’s more, how can we live that kind of love when selfishness is so deeply rooted within us?
The good news is this: God is love (1 John 4:16). Our Creator is love. The One who designed this world designed it for love. The One who designed us designed us for love. Love is our purpose, our heritage, our destiny. Love is the rich life, the full life, the natural life that He is giving to every one of us.
A life of love is not an heroic feat of self-control. As we trust Him simply, step-by-step, we grow in Him. As we grow in Him, He grows in us. His love grows in us. It begins as a tiny seed and grows into a beautiful tree that gives shelter and nourishment to everyone around.
Look around you.
The entire earthly kingdom that runs on
greed and
self-indulgence,
now so dominant and pervasive,
will be judged by Almighty God and
utterly destroyed.
He will create a brand new society.
Hymn: Lord, You Are Love
