Tuesday night at group I found out that we were going to start reading Acts; I was less than thrilled. Acts is one of my least favorite books in the Bible because I feel like churches and christians alike use verses that are found in the book as well as the book of Acts itself as this cliche way that you should live your life. The part of Acts that I despise the most is actually the part that I used to love and want to aspire to. It’s Acts 2:42-47, it talks about how the believers lived together and shared everything and worshipped God. Ugh, I can’t stand those verses. Everyone uses them in such a cliche way. I don’t think I’ve actually witnessed anyone truly living them out. It really frustrates me. This morning, I read those verses and then quickly shut my Bible. I just wanted to stop thinking about it as quickly as I could. No one takes the verses seriously, they're overused.

This afternoon as it was pouring down rain I felt like I should re-read those verses. So I did, I read them several times before I noticed a few words, phrases, and ideas that stuck out to me. The people were not selfish. They had glad and sincere hearts. They praised God and enjoyed the favor of all the people. It really made me stop and think. Am I unselfish? Do I have a glad and sincere heart? Do I praise God and just enjoy being around people?

By re-reading and meditating on these verses it really made me change my perception of that scripture. I no longer view it as cliche or overused. I find it as a challenge and an inspiration. It challenges me to be like these people and also inspires me to know that there were people who were so focused on God that they weren’t concerned with material things. It shows me that people can live like that again, it makes me want to live like the people in Acts 2.

Allison