My friend Carrie’s preschool daughter loves mixing together dolls, figures and toys from different playsets. In the world of her imagination, everything belongs together. These are her people. She thinks they are happiest when they’re together, even though they’re all different sizes and shapes.

Her creativity reminds me of God’s plan for the church. When the Holy Spirit came, Luke tells us, “There were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” (ACTS 2:5). Though these people were from different cultures and spoke different languages, the Holy Spirit’s arrival made them a new united people: the church. From then on, they would be considered one body, united by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The leaders of this new community were a group of men Jesus brought together during His time on earth. Without Jesus, they would probably never have come across each other. And now more people—“about three thousand” (V.41)—had become Christians. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, this mixture of people now “had everything in common” (V.44). They were willing to share what they had with each other.

The Holy Spirit continues to bridge the gaps between people. We might not always get along or understand one another perfectly. But as Christians, we belong together.

By: Linda Washington

To Pray About . . .

Jesus, thank You for dying for us and bringing us together in the church.