Doing Life Together

Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: ACTS 2:40-47; GALATIANS 6:9-10; EPHESIANS 4:1-16

Have you ever heard Christians talk about “doing life together”? It can be hard to understand exactly what this looks like. But I got to experience it in a variety of ways this week.

I have some friends in my church who, like me, are married with young kids: Sam and Kristi, Kongcheng and Haju, and Evan and Nicole. We were all struggling in various ways this week, and I was amazed at how we came alongside each other. Kristi and I dropped off two dinners at Nicole and Evan’s house. I also dropped off a dinner at Haju and Kongcheng’s house. Sam helped watch my kids so I could catch up on house cleaning—while he also helped with cleaning. And a few of us were able to go to one another’s houses to just spend time together.

I had been reflecting this week on how, when I was little, my parents had lots of siblings in town who also had young children, and they got to raise their kids together. It was such a blessing for our families. Today, I don’t have any siblings in town who have young kids, and yet, God provides through His family, the church. I get to raise my kids with my siblings in Christ.

Doing life together will probably look different at different life stages. During our teen years, it might look like studying for a quiz together, helping a friend practice their lay-up, or just sitting with someone and bringing them their favorite snack when they’ve had a bad day. It’s amazing that Jesus has made us, as individual believers, into one body, which is His church, through His death and resurrection. And when we remember this, we can work together as the body of Christ, loving and supporting one another and truly doing life together.

To work together like this, we need to be honest with each other about our needs and struggles. And that’s difficult. It requires trust and vulnerability. But when we share our needs and struggles with trustworthy people, it leads to the most beautiful community imaginable, reflecting the beauty of our Creator and giving us a glimpse of His kingdom. • Taylor Eising

• Are you part of a local church? According to today’s Bible passages, how is the early church similar to or different from your church?

• If we know Jesus, we are united with other believers through the Holy Spirit, and we share a common goal of growing in our faith, caring for others, and telling people about Jesus. How does this enable us to do life together in a deeper way than we can with non-Christians?

• How does doing life together reflect the love of Jesus and show others what God is like?

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. Acts 2:44 (NLT)