Thriving in God’s FamilyNäide

Called to Interdependence

“I owe you one.” Have you ever heard that phrase? When someone picks up the tab, provides a ride, or helps with a task, the recipient of the kindness will frequently insist, “I owe you one”—and often won’t stop until the debt is repaid.

Within the complexity of group relationships, though, we often find the dynamics of need and service move beyond “owing” one another:

• Week after week, church members help a woman with a chronic illness.
• A man regularly cleans up the litter on his street with no pay or acknowledgement.
• A woman tutors her neighbors’ children for hours without asking for compensation.

The give-and-take in a group can’t be tracked in a spreadsheet or carefully balanced. Rather, it’s simply part of belonging.

In the early chapters of Acts, Luke records how community life looked when members of the early church took their interdependence seriously: “The congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them” (4:32 NASB). Some people even sold their land and made the proceeds available to members in need, giving the money to the apostles to administer (vv. 36-37).

Then in Acts 5, we see an example of the exact opposite. Luke tells us about a couple who only looked out for themselves and ending up collapsing on the spot (vv. 1-11). The account feels shocking to our 21st-century sensibilities, but it was shocking in the first century too: “Great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things” (v. 11 NASB).

While the account of Ananias and Sapphira seems to be a lesson about lying, it also teaches us about belonging. Interdependence is a priority woven throughout the New Testament—a priority we’re called to live out as God’s children. Though it may look different today and reflect our specific community’s needs and way of life, it’s no less a part of the church’s DNA than it was 2,000 years ago.

The phrase we read as “one another” in our English translations is from the Greek word allélón, which occurs 100 times in the New Testament. The frequent usage emphasizes how important it is not only to share with one another but also to be at peace with, live in harmony with, bear the burdens of, encourage, accept, instruct, greet, serve, and love one another.

Reflect

In his sermon “The Messages We Send,” Dr. Stanley says, “All of us need to feel that we belong.” To whom or what do you belong?

If you feel as if you don’t belong, start here: You belong to God. He welcomes you into His family—in Jesus Christ, you are His beloved child.

Pause to Pray

Lord, thank You for welcoming me into Your family as a beloved child. Though it’s not always easy to be in community with my brothers and sisters in the church, I ask that You help my relationships with them. Please keep me mindful that You have given us to each other so that we might grow in Your likeness and show Your love to the world. Help me also to serve others without expecting repayment and to find my joy complete in You. Amen.