Have you ever tried to do something all alone?
I remember trying to renovate our house in Calgary alone. My kids were too little to help and Britton was working evenings and weekends, so I did a lot of the work by myself. It was a lonely endeavor, but it was also incredibly difficult. Often what I had to do required another set of hands. Try hanging an 4×8 foot piece of drywall by yourself! It isn’t easy! When Britton was home or my dad came to visit, things were a lot easier and a lot more fun.
I’ve discovered that a lot of things are easier and turn out better when done with someone else. We were created to live and work in community. We are better together and can accomplish far more together than apart.
In Acts 1:12-26, the disciples are gathered together to pray. Verse 14 says “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer…” (NIV) As we go through Acts we are going to see two things.
1. Every significant movement flows out of prayer.
2. Every significant movement takes place within community.
The disciples are praying as a group. They’ve gathered to seek God’s presence together. Jesus told them where two or three are gathered and in agreement, God is present. The disciples took Jesus at his word. The community described in Acts 1 does not just involve people; it includes God.
As the disciples are praying, they realize their community is not complete. They are one disciple down because of Judas’ betrayal and death. So, they ask God who to include in their community. God points out Matthias, who becomes the new 12th disciple.
This is the only time we hear about Matthias. Why does Luke dedicate part of his book on the church to writing about Matthias? It’s interesting to note that things really don’t get started in the church until Matthias is chosen. The Holy Spirit doesn’t come until there’s a 12th disciple and the community is complete.
I wonder if the principle Luke is trying to convey to us is that the mission and movement of God begins when we place ourselves in community. God invites us into his mission, and his mission isn’t a solo endeavor. God’s intention is for us to live in community and be on mission together, in community with him and with other disciples of Jesus.
So the question is: who are you living with on mission and in community? With whom have you chosen to share your life? Who do you gather with regularly to pray and listen to God? Who are you with on God’s mission?
If you aren’t in a community like the one described in Act 1, maybe it’s time to talk with God about why. Ask God to point you towards a community where you fit, just as Matthias fit with the twelve.
It wasn’t just the disciples who lived on mission in community together. Verse 15 tells us that 120 people, the entire first church, gathered to pray and live in community. Out of that community came a movement that is still changing the world.
I wonder what we might be missing out on because we aren’t in a community of disciples who gather together? Praying and living on mission together in community was normal for the first church. Is it the norm for us today? If it was, I wonder if we might see movement take place in our church, like we have seen in Acts?
