LOVE FOUND A WAY TO REDEEM OUR SOULS, MAKE US WHOLE, BIND US TOGETHER
My doctor reminded me that it’s about time for me to undergo my wellness checkup. At our age and stage in life, it’s a good idea to do this on a regular basis, is it not, in keeping with the axiom, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
If your checkups go like mine, you leave the doctor’s office with a handful of prescriptions to help you maintain good health. We do what the doctor orders and inevitably the benefit of wholeness is worth the time and effort it takes to stay that way - to whatever extent possible - oftentimes against great odds.
So much of what we must do to stay well must be done against odds that are either thrown at us, or, are simply there just because “that’s the way it is”.
What we find to be true in the realm of physical well-being we also find to be true in the realm of spiritual well-being – with one big difference:
What we do to get well physically has its limitations and eventually gives in to the realities of aging, while what we do to get well spiritually has no limitations and tends to get better not worse.
Even against great odds, spiritual wellness improves over time and prepares us for wholeness that is everlasting - if we know the Lord and if we are trusting in the Great Physician for our spiritual health.
The question Jesus put to the paralytic who was lying beside the pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate is as pertinent today as it was then: “Wilt thou be made whole?” or to put it in plain English, “Do you want to get well?”
Of course, we all want to experience the wellness of life in Christ but, just as surely as is the case with staying well physically, there is a prescription for staying well spiritually – and it was written by Dr. Luke in his book, The Acts of the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:41-47 . . .
Here we see the effectiveness of Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost. The Church was not only surviving; it also was growing; growth was external and numerical, yes, but it was also internal and spiritual. So, Luke described a healthy wholesome fellowship of believers with whom all was well!
It was well with their souls; it was well with their relationships; the gist of it all was bound up in the word “love”. God’s love found a way to redeem their souls and to make them whole. True love was the tie that bound their hearts together. Christian love became the theme of all that they did. Love for God and love for one another made them well.
Question: Do you want to get well? There are four parts to Luke's prescription for getting well and staying healthy spiritually:
(1) Worship. First Century believers were a worshipping Fellowship, and their worship consisted of prayer, praise and proclamation. You might say they spoke to God before they spoke to their neighbors . . . praised God before they set out to tackle their problems . . . nourished their souls before going out to win souls and to make disciples.
In his earthly ministry, Jesus laid the foundation for true worship when He told the Samaritan woman that the day would come when worship would occur not only in a designated place, but, wherever God is worshipped in Spirit and in Truth – in the heart and in the mind. Emotion. Yes, it’s involved in worship just as surely as the mind is. It does us good to feel excitement in our hearts when we praise God from whom all blessings flow . . . to receive God’s truth into our heads and get excited about it. And why not?
We get excited watching sports . . . listening to certain types of music. We don’t need cheerleaders; nor do we have to dance a jig (although it’s okay with me if you do); but it sure does help if we at least feel a surge of excitement, even to the point of tears! Why not think of the Body of Believers as the Fellowship of Excitement!
(2) Evangelism. They were an evangelizing Fellowship, and the Lord added to their Fellowship those who were being saved.
Proclaiming Christ was never seen as optional! It was never a job handed over to a special committee. Evangelism happened consistently as the believers lived the Christian life daily. They aroused not only curiosity but also admiration.
A healthy Fellowship of Believers is reproductive in the sense that we talk about what is important to us - to such an extent not that we impose our beliefs on others but that others see us happily engaged in healthy Christian living - and others want what we have. So,
Reaching out to those around us is not a planned event but simply a natural outgrowth of the healthy relationship we have with the Lord and with each other.
(3) Learning. They were a learning Church - consistently, steadfastly engaging in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship. Learning principles of righteousness as taught in God’s Word is essential to a healthy Body of Christ.
Have you ever noticed that the more you are fed a good thing, the more you gain an appetite for it? Keep in mind that it was “doctrine” that these early Christians desired and “devoured” – “the sincere milk of the Word”. They were attentive to and responsive to doctrine of all things! They at first had been fed “the milk” – elementary truths of the gospel – then they craved “solid food” as they matured in their faith. The Bread of Life sustained them daily.
Mature Christians “hunger and thirst after righteousness” . . . study to show themselves approved unto God, unashamed disciples of Christ, rightly dividing the word of truth . . . constantly seek to deepen their understanding of God’s Word.
Yes, constantly and consistently get ready – as if preparing for a final exam! And, what will constitute an A+ for me? “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
(4) Loving. They were a loving Church, and they showed it without having to be persuaded to do so. No marketing strategies were used to get them to respond to worthy causes. Unnecessary!
Out of the goodness of their hearts they stepped forward and did whatever needed to be done, whenever it needed to be done, for as long as it needed to be done. Helping one another was the characteristic they had in common.
There is no basis here for Government Socialism. It’s not going to happen fairly and squarely because not all people are Christians, and not everybody who says they are Christian acts like it. Greed gets in the way and tends to take over.
Good Samaritanism, Jesus taught, is the way to go. Leave it to the Christian Community to put it into practice and show the world how it is supposed to be done, based on the example of the First Century Fellowship of Believers who simply applied the Parable of the Good Samaritan within the membership of their fellowship, and beyond!
Theirs is the model we follow to win the world to Christ. Their testimony of giving and sharing was so powerful that it was noticed by non-Christians to the extent that their numbers exploded; thousands came to know Christ – and that is the result we aim for. Remember this:
We are God’s Family, and love for one another is our greatest witness to the world! So, let us do what families do best – worship together, care for one another, help when and where we can, serve one another.
Let our motto be: “One for all, and all for one”! After all, we are ONE in the bond of love! Amen.
