Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Acts 2:1-21 is the story of Pentecost. It began with a small gathering of people in an upper room waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. They were waiting for power that would enable them to be witnesses for Jesus. The Bible says that they were all in one accord.
I have often thought that “one accord” was what the church was supposed to look like. The truth is that I have never seen such a church, in fact, those folks in the upper room were waiting to become the church, they were not yet the Body of Christ. They were about to become something that they could never have imagined. One thing was certain: Their “one accord” was about to be blown away by a rushing mighty wind.
Church as I have known it has looked more like the rest of the text; people who are confused, from all races and cultures, and all ages of men and women who come from various positions in society. There have even been a fair number who pointed fingers at one another and made accusations about things they did not know. People, gathered, trying to understand what this Grace of God means; that is the church that I know, and love.
God never called us be a uniform church where everyone looks and thinks the same. We are called to be a united body of believers under one Banner. Song of Solomon says that God’s banner over us is Love. John 3:16 names that Love; his name is Jesus, God’s only begotten.
Peter said that “All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved;” They are also added to the church by God himself. That is when we share the same heart, the same blood, and the same spirit.
We are not known in Heaven by our affiliation with any church or denomination of human design. When it comes to salvation, the right question is not, “What church do you belong to.” The answer to the question, “Do you belong to Jesus?” is everything.
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
