Devotion:
Read Acts 6:1-7.
In this passage, there was a problem rising in the Jerusalem church because the Greek widows were not being served as well as the Hebrew widows. The unity of a church can be threatened in many ways, even over the distribution of food. The church growth brought challenges, including the challenge of one group of people feeling overlooked. The followers of Jesus knew the Hebraic widows. But the Hellenistic widows who came from Greek-speaking Jewish families were relatively unknown. So in the daily distribution of food, many of them went unnoticed and unfed.
As tensions rose, the potential for church division along ethnic lines grew. So the apostles called everyone together to address this need. The apostles would remain focused on prayer and the ministry of proclaiming the Word of God. Seven others would be designated to serve the needy, and it seems apparent from the names of these seven leaders that they were from a Greek background. So unity was restored, and its story continued. When a church has problems, what matters is how people respond to the problems. They gathered everyone together to solve a problem and worked together for the right solution. That is such a lesson for us today. We must be willing to share in conversation to resolve issues among us.
Personal Worship Option:
Dear God, give us eyes to see so that the work and story of your church continues to go forward in unity. Help each one of us to be guided by the Holy Spirit and to give you all of the praise and glory. Amen.
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