Kaitlynn Carroll

Acts 2: 42-47 (NIV)

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Reflection:

These days, if you’re a college student like me at a public university like Texas A&M, one of the most common jokes you hear around campus is that we’re all “broke college students.” For some this joke is not so much a joke, but a harsh reality. For others it’s a light-hearted way to describe this weird, in-between phase of life; we aren’t financially independent, but we also live in an independent environment. There are so many things we share and “have everything in common,” like in Acts 2. Regardless of actual financial circumstances, we still lump each other together under the description of “broke college students.” 

And yet, so many of us describe our college years as some of the best of their lives. How could this be in a society that strives so deeply for financial/ material success? We’re all in college to ensure that our futures will be at least somewhat financially stable, and yet some of the best years of our lives happen when we’re not there yet? Perhaps this is because we don’t find true joy in how much space we have to live in or how much financial stability we have. When people recount their college stories they always mention the relationships, their community, and they chuckle at the humble living situations. It’s our community that impacts our lives, propels us onto the next phase, and even sticks with us in memories. Many of us leave college with a network that lives on even into our professional lives. It’s a deep community whether we think of it that way or not. The college days and experiences like it produce joy, not because of material or financial security, but because of our relationships.

It’s so interesting that in the few verses that describe the early Church, it’s highlighted that they actively gave away their possessions. We often skip over the line that says, “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” Because of their diverse backgrounds, they were able to experience real unity, and were radically charitable in response to the gospel that flipped their lives upside down. It seems to suggest that a life with Christ brings joy and doesn’t require us to tether ourselves to money and possessions. Thank goodness. 

Could you imagine if the only place to find joy was in materials? 

So many people would be excluded from that joy simply because of circumstances they can’t control, and my college career would look completely different if my success was solely determined by the material possessions I did or didn’t have. Thank goodness we have a God who gives us joy in something so much bigger: grace that grants us the opportunity to live in community with God and with each other without dependence on material items. We are called to live in radical unity and radical generosity. Right now, I’m thankful to be in the period of life that inherently encourages me to live in community, in joy. My prayer is that I can remember how true that existence is for the rest of my life, finding joy in Christ and in others, the things that no amount of money or possessions could buy.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for giving up deeper things to root ourselves in than material possessions. Thank you for a relationship with you, and with others. Grow in me a heart like those in Acts 2. A heart of radical unity and charity. Thank you for bonds like these that go beyond superficiality, helping us believe that we are more than superficial as well. Amen.