I’d be lying if I said that the upcoming elections and current political climate is not giving me any anxiety. In fact- this is probably the first time that a sense of impending doom has really been heavy on my heart. I think partially it is because this is the first time around where I have my children to think about. I believe that it’s safe to say that most of us would like a world where there is peace. We watch the news and the most seemingly elementary questions come to mind- why can’t we all just get along? Why can’t “they” see the truth? Why can’t we just be at peace? Elementary, yet hopelessly complicated. 

I think about the early church depicted in Acts 4:32-35 and I ask myself why we can’t live like this now: 

“32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. 34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.”

 The account details how everyone shared what they had, no one claimed anything was theirs and when they sold property, they laid the money at the apostles feet and it was distributed to those in need. A radical way to live! Beautiful and humbling. With communism floating around in our current discussions, some might think that this is exactly the picture of what it would look like. However, there is one crucial factor that comes into play that makes the early church’s way of life drastically different than any form of earthy communism. All the believers were of “one heart and mind” with this at the core of the early church community, what we see here is something miles away from communism. No one forced them to live this way, their property was not taken, they gave it. Being of one heart and mind implies that they all believed the same way and willingly submitted themselves to the community. Their core values were in sync and their will and purpose were all unified towards the same goal- to preach the gospel of Christ. Communism also harkens back to Genesis- Adam and Eve in the garden were provided everything they needed by God Himself, they were in perfect community with Him. In communism, people are inevitably subjected to rely on the government for every single one of their needs- it is an ideology that wants Eden on Earth and replaces God with the government. Communism seems so appealing and is effective at pulling the hearts of many because it actually points to the truth of what our communities should look like. It is a broken and imperfect system that sees the shadows of what Jesus has for us and tries to interpret and apply it through the lends of our fallible minds and forms of rule. It tries to subject fallen people and corrupt nature to an ideal that is not compatible with our reality. In other words, it’s a fake. A phony version of heaven.

Those who got to be a part of this early church experience got a glimpse of heaven. A taste of what it will be like to be in perfect communion with God and with each other.  This early church community is a nod to the longing in all of our hearts. As we can see we are currently far from anything close to that at the moment. The reality is- to have a community like this is impossible here on Earth. While the early church managed to achieve it for a while, it wasn’t long until people’s sin got in the way. In the next chapter- (Acts 5) we read the account of Sapphira and Ananias, a couple who sold a piece of land and decided to keep a portion of it to themselves in secret and then gave the rest to the apostles. In Acts 5:4, Peter asked in regards to the property: “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” So it wasn’t that they had property or that they had money from the sale that was wrong, but the deceit that they committed. After being confronted, both Ananais and Sapphira were struck dead. Their dishonesty ended up being deadly. As time went on, the church began descending much further down a path of wickedness than just withholding some money. So far was their debasement that they were found to have sin amongst them that was not even openly committed in the secular world (1 Cor 5:1).

What more can we expect from society today? Have we really gotten any better? What makes us think that there is any hope in the kind of regime we live under? We think that “our candidate” will deliver us from the perils of war, destruction and strife but who are we kidding? Our leaders are all fallen, corruption pulls them from every angle and it is nothing short of a miracle for any of them to have a “clean record”. When a new face sits on the “throne” some will breathe a sigh of relief and others will feel their heart drop. The one filled with hope may perceive things getting better day by day and the one filled with dread may see the fulfillment of their fears come to fruition before their eyes. 

Some may desire a “Christian nation” or at least for there to be a “God fearing” president but when you think about it- what you’re really asking for is Jesus… Jesus asserted that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36) and when those who believed He would be a political leader were going to try to make Him a king by force (John 6:15) He withdrew and hid Himself. He was not the earthly leader they thought and so rejected Him. No matter how good a start, or “re-start” we get, the seeds of self destruction are sown into every possible regime, and into every human soul. It will only be a matter of time before things start going downhill. This is not to say that we don’t need just and honest leaders- even some who may be God fearing- or that there don’t exist better forms of rule over others but at the end of the day, the best we can hope for is buying time. We can only do our best to delay the inevitable destruction of humanity. Each election season the angst for the True King becomes more poignant, each time our souls reach for the New Heavens and New Earth. Even those who do not claim any faith or belief in anything other than what they can see, know that there must be a standard of what is fair, just, and true and their souls long for it. We all agree something is wrong with the world, that something about humanity is hopelessly broken and we must find a solution if we hope to continue on living. The ravaging disagreements, the ruthless clawing and nit picking we find ourselves witnessing whenever political topics are discussed are really all the same argument: my view is closer to the Truth… My candidate is closer to the True King. 

I have always considered the account of the early church in Acts 4 to be one of my favorites. However, it was because I believed it was an example of how we should be living now with those around us. While we should try to live at peace with our neighbors and have hearts of generosity, we shouldn’t be surprised when we find ourselves in disputes and disagreements. All of us are tainted by sin and soon we will have our own list of grievances against those in our community. Even if the entire world believed in Jesus, we would still be bound to our fallen flesh and be subjected to all the shortcomings of creation. Our tendency is always towards rebellion and the very nature of our reality is fractured, allowing evil to seep through. We cannot have heaven in our current reality, even with Jesus. 

On one of the occasions when my anxiety was high, I asked Gabe what we would do if  something happened where we would be subjected to live in a system that would put us at a much higher risk to be persecuted or subject to suffering and injustice. His quick reply was simply  “You live the best you can with what you got” .. while that seems like an obvious answer, I asked, “but you wouldn’t consider leaving? Moving away somewhere far?”. He replied with “where to though? Everywhere we go is going to be full of corruption”. While the grass may seem greener on the other side, each lawn has it’s weeds. 

Recently, I’ve grown to appreciate Hebrews 11 more, which depending on the translation, bears titles like “Faith in Action” “The Triumphs of Faith” and “Great examples of faith”. It is always encouraging to walk through all the accounts mentioned in this chapter, the obedience and faithfulness of those God used over time is always to be admired. Recently, another aspect of this chapter has stood out to me. On two occasions, this chapter asserts that none of these people got the full promises that God had for them. While they got to be a witness to many amazing things God did in their lifetime, they still didn’t get the fullness of the promises. Verses 13-16 says:

“13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” 

Reading this verse today resonates so much. These people longed for a country they could call their own. It is clear that this passage is not referring to a earthly city- their hearts longed for a heavenly homeland. As these people were, we too are foreigners and nomads on earth and we wait eagerly for the city that God has prepared for us. Further on in the passage, after reading more accounts of the faithful God used, it is rehashed that even though there were some who got to see some of God’s promises fulfilled, none of them received ALL that God had promised. Some not only didn’t receive the fullness of the promises, but they went through horrific tribulations during their lives. What kept them going was their faith and the trust that God had something better for them.

“33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.” Hebrews 11:33-40

I see three kinds of people, or 3 situations in which believers found themselves in and in which we too may find ourselves as well at some point. First are those who seemed to take bold action- overthrowing kingdoms and ruling with justice and succeeded. Second were those who were probably just trying to live their lives normally and came to a place where they had to make a choice between yielding to corruption by denying or disobeying God but chose to stand their ground- this got them killed and tortured. And third were those who went into hiding, just trying to survive in caves and holes in the ground. All of these earned a good reputation because of their faith before God. None of them received shame for the way they lived their lives or for what they did or didn’t accomplish because their faith was in Him and they were faithful and obedient in their specific situation. Those who seemed to have accomplished more by taking on the offensive were not put above those who hid or ended up being killed. They all lived “the best they could with what they had”. Everyone will have different resources and will be placed in different situations with different opportunities and as long as we keep our eyes on the Lord and do the best we can with what we got, we can be sure we will receive those promises God has for us. For some this will mean taking bold actions when they are placed in positions of power or leadership or who are granted abundant resources. Others may have to endure suffering or resort to hiding, still, all will receive the fullness of the promises at the second resurrection. 

The human longing for unity, peace, and a place to call home has God’s signature of design on it. Both the original garden and the early church in Acts are glimpses of what awaits us. We were designed for peace, not chaos and that’s why everyone knows in their heart, that something is wrong with the reality we are living in. Isaiah 11 paints the most beautiful picture of peace that only Christ can bring.

“6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together;
And a little boy will lead them.

7 Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.

9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.”

Take a minute to dwell on these wonderful images that go against what we think is natural. This paradoxical picture, this unfathomable reality, THIS is home. To some this is just a glimmering fantasy, and a baseless hope, so they settle to make their home in a barn and their city in a savanna. But we who are indwelled with The Spirit have the hope of home next to Christ’s throne. That is what our hearts are really longing for. One day, the donkey, the elephant and the lion will sit at the table together in peace and rejoice.