37 When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God invites.” 40 With many other words he testified to them and encouraged them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized. God brought about three thousand people into the community on that day. 42 The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. (Acts 2:37-42, CEB)
I was excited to write this devotional because Acts 2:42-47 is a passage that for some reason I have always found very comforting. I think it stems from the idea of this ideal society that the new believers had with each other; sharing all they had, living in community with each other, making sure everyone’s needs were met. I like to imagine that I will find a community like that one day. The first summer that I worked at camp, where I met some of my friends who first brought me to Treehouse, this was a reading for our Thursday bible study. It is bookmarked and highlighted in my bible, and is something that I still turn to years after that first summer ended, hoping I can find another community in which to live, to share what I have with others, and to take care and be taken care of.
The verses 37-42 however, details not that perfect society but the way to get there. We get there by changing our hearts and our lives, loving one another, being forgiven of our sins. This is what we need in order to get to that place of love and caring. We leave behind the old, the sin, the hurt inside us, and we step into a community of believers who truly love and care for each other.