A Common Purpose

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:1-5

Acts 4:32 states, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” Have you ever seen this demonstrated?

I have recently seen a glimpse of this. I live in the Nashville area and as I’m writing this we have just experienced an extremely devastating flood. Many homes have been under water or filled with water at different levels. As soon as the rains stopped, people all over the area immediately pitched in to help. They just started showing up at flood-damaged homes with willing hearts and hands.

The devastation was enormous—sometimes overwhelming—but the response of volunteers was equal to the task. People helped by doing laundry, washing mud from dishes, cleaning toys, and gathering up whatever could be salvaged. Others used chainsaws to cut up trees while still others helped rip out drywall that had gotten wet. Neighbors who previously didn’t even know one another’s names were sifting through private belongings together. Suddenly things that we thought were important were no longer a priority.

People had a common purpose: to help one another! Everyone was united in helping put the community together again. I would suggest that we became what we should be all along in the church—unified in purpose. We were not just talking about it but living it out. Serving our brothers and sisters and meeting their needs became the most important thing. People were not trying to meet their own agendas for the day but instead were putting others first. It was a devastating time and yet a beautiful time. It was a time of getting to see many diverse churches and people unite and be the “hands and feet of Jesus” and as a result, many saw Jesus for the first time.

Lord, let us love one another not just in words but in deeds also. Forgive our selfishness and let us show Your love to those around us. Let us put others before ourselves. Let us have the same attitude as that of Jesus. In His name, amen.