阅读经文 

如果你认识铁杆球迷，你就知道他们对自己的俱乐部相当狂热。他们说话、穿着和欢呼的样子就像在球场上观看比赛一样。一个真正的球迷无论在什么场合下都会忠于他们的俱乐部。一个真正的足球迷体现出的样式正是全身心投入。

在一世纪，信从耶稣的群体正在形成，他们的行事为人和生活方式几乎是自然而然、潜移默化地转了一个方向，为了使他们能够培养出对这种生活方式的笃定的信心，他们献身于这种新的生活方式。“献身（dedicated）”这个词带有黏着在某物上，无法分开的意思。

当人全身心投入的时候，他们不会一味寻找阻力最小的路。当时局艰难时，他们并不贪求舒适方便的生活。虔诚的门徒不会让自己的感觉成为他们定义信仰的主要指标。

早期教会向我们展示了人性中一些非常重要的东西：我们所献身的价值塑造了我们的生活，塑造了我们的思想，并发展出新的生活方式和关系模式。

If you know a die-hard soccer fan, you know that they can be rather fanatical about their club. The way they talk, dress, and cheer is like they were on the pitch for the game. Through thick and thin a true fan stays true to their club, no matter what. A true soccer fan is a picture of what it means to be deeply devoted.

As the group of first-century, new believers in Jesus was being formed, they did something almost automatically. They turned their lives in a direction that would allow them to grow a resilient faith. They devoted themselves to this new way of life. The word devoted carries with it the idea of being glued to something, unable to be pulled apart.

When a person is devoted, they are not looking for the path of least resistance. When times get tough, they don’t strive for a comfortable and convenient life. People who are deeply devoted don’t allow their feelings to be the main indicator of how they define their faith.

The early church shows us something very important about human nature: what we are devoted to forms our lives, shapes our thinking, and develops new patterns of life and friendship.