Being of One Heart and Mind

Acts 4:32 All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own, they shared everything they had.

I can only imagine what it must have been like in the early church. I have been in the ministry for over 40 years and I have never been in a church where all the believers were of one heart and mind. In today's church, it would be practically impossible for this to happen. We can't come close to being of one mind on what we believe, let alone one in heart. Often in the local church there is a huge difference in what people really believe and how they live out what they believe.

It is common for people to be upset with each other, often times over the smallest of things. We just can't see to get over the hump of agreeing to disagree agreeably. We want everyone to see things as we do and when they don't, we get upset and pout. With so many church choices available, it's not very hard to find another church to fellowship and worship in.

Before we can be of one mind, we have to be of one heart, and that is where we mess up so much. In order to be of one heart, we have to focus on the same thing, Christ. There has to be one agenda in the church, the exaltation of Christ in all we do. We have to want to honor and glorify Him more than anything else. We must set aside our own agendas and submit to the Lord's. We must be willing to work together for Jesus' sake instead of trying to promote our own churches.

I believe that one of the primary needs of the church today is to strive to become of one mind and heart before Christ. Can we change the church? Perhaps not. But, we can let the Lord change us so that we will do our part. We can strive to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.