2 Acts 2:42-47: Church Revisited

What if there were scripture written during the lifetime of the church now?  How would it read?  I wanted to parallel the passage of Acts 2: 42-47 for the sake of contrasting the early church with the state of our beloved church today. The original passage is as follows:

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Here, I rewrote  Acts 2: 42-47 (with a little help) to be contrasted with the original for your consideration.

42. They devoted themselves to following the wisdom of the world, denying the power of the cross, and they were too busy to build healthy relationships with others or God and they remained distant and silent. 43. Most people had lost respect because of the fruitless lives of the apostles. 44. All the believers were dispersed and lonely, and they had no common ground resulting in weakness and division. 45. They accumulated material wealth to fill the hole in their heart as they stole from the poor and needy. 46. To alleviate any feelings of guilt, they put on their masks and met together every Sunday. They denied the opportunity to live in full community with those around them and their hearts became hard and distant 47 as they cursed God for leaving them alone without anyone to know them. And the Lord waited for his bride to return so he could add to their numbers daily those who were being saved.

I believe in the power of the universal church . And I believe we are making progress. I believe that we are entering a new phase. I believe that the world is beginning to view us differently. I believe that our Father is no longer waiting for his church to return. I believe he is at work and soon, if not already, we will be able to say, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”