Caring for all who had need: The early church believed that sharing their possessions with others from an attitude of love was a central tenet of discipleship and Christian community. They rightly obeyed the command from John 13:34 to love one another the way Jesus loved. They understood that when each member is looking out for the other's needs over their own, a need rarely went unmet. The real problem began when the church started constructing buildings and systematically establishing an organizational hierarchy, the faithful started giving to the visible church instead of simply meeting the needs of all. This birthed a mindset of pride and separateness to a degree and was also one of the first weapons the enemy, Satan, used to divide the Church.
Who are My mother and my Brothers/sisters?: Jesus did not distinguish between our family of origin and our spiritual family. In fact, He put much more emphasis on the latter. He taught that our bond in the Spirit is thicker than blood. So what has developed over the centuries is a secular/cultural form of Christianity that unfortunately no longer even resembles the early church.
How do we fix it?:
Firstly, having an authentic faith in Jesus Christ is a behavioral modifier that embraces Christ-like love. That is the common denominator and the number one step to a healthy, thriving church community.
Secondly, living small in a materialistic world by choice IS the essence of the early Church. They had a forward looking attitude toward Christ-likeness that made the things of this world unworthy as an investment in comparison to just simply doing what Jesus said. Mature Christians love one another the way Jesus did, period. "Now you go and do likewise"
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