Acts 2:47
Spirit fruits (Galatians 5:22)
A fictional story:
3000 people had repented and accepted Jesus Christ. What an experience. The apostles, especially Peter, were still overwhelmed by this event. They had seen all of these people believe and be filled with the Holy Spirit. But that's not all, every day new people who accepted the Lord were added. The community of early Christians grew, more every day. The beautiful thing for the apostles was to experience that they all broke bread together and worshiped the Lord.
But this growth of the church presented them all with some problems that urgently needed to be solved. More than 3000 people and no end in sight. For the apostles this meant that they had to organize the accommodation and food for all. Luckily all the newcomers participated and everyone gave what they could spare. And so it happened that Peter, accompanied by 2 other apostles, set out this morning after the common prayer to buy fresh vegetables and fruit for food at the market.
Not many people were out and about in this part of Jerusalem this early in the morning. But whenever they met someone, they were greeted warmly. At a market stall that was just opening, they were treated to pastries and fresh tea, and down the road an elderly man stepped out and invited them into the courtyard of his home. After Peter and the others were seated, the man told them that his wife had suffered from severe fever since yesterday and the doctors were at a loss. And he asked Peter and the other two apostles to pray for his wife. The apostles gladly complied with this request and they prayed for the man's wife and his entire family. Afterwards they were given a friendly farewell, full of gratitude and respect, by the family present. The 3 apostles continued towards the market and experienced that the people they met on the way there treated them with respect and goodwill.
Acts 2:47
At the end of the second chapter of Acts we read that the Christian community enjoyed the goodwill of all the people. What a statement. That says so much about the early Christians.
And when I then look at the landscape of the many communities and the many Christians, I ask myself what distinguishes us from the first Christians. To have such a predicate as a community presupposes that the individual lives according to the example of Jesus Christ. When the fruits of the Holy Spirit are visibly present and lived in the individual, then we Christians as a community have the goodwill of the whole people. Because without these fruits of the spirit it doesn't work.
Gal. 5:22: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering (patience), kindness, kindness, faithfulness (faith), meekness, temperance."
If we have these traits and live them, the people we deal with every day will take notice, and if we stand by our faith in Jesus Christ and confess it to others, it will have an impact. For ourselves, the community we form as Christians and the society in which we live.
But often we only live our faith in the community of like-minded people, at assemblies, meetings or on Sundays in the services. As soon as we travel the world, we adapt. Our inner man is connected to Christ, but it does not penetrate to the outside. We speak a secular language and our actions are largely secular. We may manage to hold back when co-workers or classmates put others down, we may not participate actively when others are being bullied, but we don't take a stand either. It's almost like we're sheep in wolf's clothing. Of course, this wolf's fur protects us from being exposed as a sheep, but by wearing the wolf's fur we run the risk of taking on the character traits of the wolf on the inside.
The question each of us must ask is what are we afraid of. God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are with us. This means that we are protected from everything and every misfortune. Our soul is saved. If we conform to the world and suppress the fruits of the Holy Spirit, then we are not on the path we should be walking. This adjustment makes small what Christ has done for us.
God wants each one of us to be a blessing to our fellow human beings. And when we live our faith in real life, that's what we are. But just talking about it is not enough. We are only a role model for our fellow human beings if we are authentic. If we live what we say ourselves. How else are others to recognize God in us if we are not examples in faith. If we don't live Christ ourselves.
I want you to ask yourself the following questions:
Do my work colleagues, classmates and neighbors know that I am a Christian?
Am I living the fruits of the Spirit?
Am I an example of faith to others?
Is my faith contagious?
Or:
Am I a sheep in wolf's clothing? And move unrecognized in the wolf pack?
In order to receive the title of the first Christians as a community, the individual must be in a process of change and become more Christlike. It always starts with each of us, but it has an impact on the big picture.
We must be aware of this responsibility.
The first step is that we treat each other with kindness.
I myself was such a sheep in wolf's clothing until 15 years ago, and often made myself guilty of speaking negatively to others about people who were not present. Almost none of my work colleagues knew that I was a Christian. Then one day I realized that what I was doing was a sin. And I started praying that God would take my words before I could say them. And the longer I said this prayer, the easier it became for me to refrain from saying anything negative when the person concerned is not present.
Most of my work colleagues now know that I am a Christian, and when someone is badmouthed, I take the side of the person who is not present.
It goes step by step and we can ask God for help.
And "Whoever asks will receive..."
Let us strive for the fruits of the spirit!
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