43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵ they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

A few weeks ago, Jen and I were able to head out to dinner by ourselves and while we were sitting there chatting, waiting for our food, enjoying the fact that we had a few hours off from being mom and dad, Jen leans over the table and quietly says, "slowly look to your left at the table just behind you." I must have given her this, "what am I going to see" look because she followed up with a, "seriously, you’ve got to see this." So I did.

I looked over at the table and what I saw was what I supposed to be a grandmother sitting with her two grandsons. Their food was in front of them and grandma had her arm wrapped around the shoulder of the grandson who was next to her.

Now with that sort of description, you might assume that this is meant to be a positive illustration. It’s not. Here’s the part of the scene that drove both Jen and I to distraction: both of the boys were completely absorbed into their personal hand-held video game units. Their food is right in front of them. Their grandmother is right beside them and there they are, showing what it means to transform mere thumbs into thumbs of fury. Now mind you, I’m not blaming the boys. If I was their age and had the choice of playing video games everywhere I went I probably would have been right there with them.

No, I put the responsibility for this sad scene at the feet of those boys parents as well as the grandmother who clearly didn’t have a problem with the fact the she was out to dinner by herself, even though she was going to be paying for three people.

The world is bombarding each of us and our families with new images of how we should be connected to one another. We have cell phone commercials touting the ‘family plan’ (so that everyone can get their own phone and talk to whomever they like regardless of who may be right in front of them), car companies that tout the family friendly video systems that allow all the children to be entertained (remember when the game ‘I Spy’ counted as entertainment on car rides?), and computer companies that are putting out smaller and smaller versions of the IPod so that we can isolate ourselves right in the presence of our family but do it less conspicuously. Everywhere we look there are newer and more efficient ways to ‘stay connected’. The reality is that with each succeeding generation, we are becoming farther and farther removed from one another.

This sort of lifestyle stands in stark contrast to the example that we have set before us in the passage from Acts. It is there that we have before us the phrase, "They devoted themselves", not only "to the apostles’ teaching" but also to "fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." The people of God in the church of Acts devoted themselves to "fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." The people of God allowed themselves to become genuinely concerned about their brothers and sisters in Christ and as they did that, what do we hear took place? We hear that "many wonders and signs were being done" and that "their numbers increased day by day." They heard God knocking at the door in regards to how they should live with each other, with their families, and they were willing to open that door. When they opened that door the loving power of God was able to flow in freely and help to bless those families of faith in ways that they probably had not even dreamed of. To put it very simply, the blessing of God becomes so much more profound when the love of the Almighty is able to flow in freely, as opposed to just trying to make it in through the cracks. However, in order to have that happen, we need to recognize that we do need one another, that we need God, that we need to open the door to God.

This is an example that we, as the church, need to set for our own families. This is an example that we, as the church, need to set for the greater world. We need to set the example of how we should live with each other, and not just coalesce to the way that the world says we should live beside each other. When I think of what I saw in the restaurant, what I saw were people living beside each other and not with one another. And I know all too well that as individuals and as a community of faith, we fall into that trap far too easily. Last week I said, "don’t give up on God". Well, if we move toward isolationism, then we are, by default, doing that very thing, we are giving up on God. God is knocking on the door to bring us to a more connected way of living with one another.

Think about it, what does it say to the secular world if one the greatest images that the church gives is that of a group of people who could care less about anyone besides themselves? Survey after survey shows us that when the unchurched think of the church, one of the thoughts that comes to mind first is that of a group of people who talk about love and then don’t show it, to each other or the world outside their doors. There are way too many churches where this assessment is way too close to the truth, if not spot on.

That is why we need to recommit ourselves to actually communicating with each other, with God, as opposed to just sharing the social niceties of, "how are you doing", "I’m good, how are you", "I’m good, thanks for asking". We need to actually allow ourselves to be vulnerable so that when we ask those, "how are you doing" sort of questions we’re actually looking for a legitimate response and more than that, we’re willing to give one. Because here’s the thing: in that vulnerability God is knitting us together and that makes us so much stronger.

In the book of Ecclesiastes it states it this way in chapter 4 verses 9 through 12: "Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." You, that other person( that other family member), and God.

You want to have a stronger family? Let God into your family life (and yes, I mean beyond just Sunday mornings). You want to make your church family stronger? Let God into your communal life so that we are able to move beyond the stone skipping across the surface and are actually able to begin to dive into each others lives and care for each other. God is knocking. Open that door and show to the world, just like the early church was able to do in the days of Acts, what can happen when you allow God in.

Holy and gracious God, You are knocking, imploring that we might open the door of our lives and allow Your transformative loving grace to enter in as it did in the days of the early church. Lord, help us to trust in You by showing to the world that we need each other and that we need You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.