The Church – A Tight-Knit Flock from the Beginning

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)

     In Scripture, God often describes his people as sheep and himself as the shepherd. The sheep stay close to each other. They move together into pasture. They are gathered together into the pen. At night, they rest side by side in tight quarters. They follow the same patterns and listen to the same voice. It’s a closeness that might seem uncomfortable to us, but for sheep, that’s how life is.

     That’s what the early church looked like right after Pentecost. Believers were together, filled with awe at God’s power. They shared what they had. They met daily. They ate in one another’s homes. It was a shared life. It all began with what they . . . . were devoted to: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

     Let’s not allow church today to become just something we do or a task we perform and then move on quickly to “real life.” This is a flock. A people bound together by the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

     Christ has made us one by shedding his blood for us. That unity matters. Know one another. Pray for one another. Share God’s Word with one another. Support one another. Be devoted to life together in the Spirit.

God’s flock is meant to be close.