Christian community is our Heavenly Father’s desire for us (as His children). When we grow in our relationships with others, we’re increasing in connection with Him. When God formed the first man (Adam) from the dust, he was the only human on the planet Earth.
Can you imagine how lonely he must have felt? God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). The Heavenly Father decided to give Adam some company—so He created the first woman, Eve, from one of Adam’s ribs. This was the first small group the world ever saw.
Now, 7.4 billion people later. It’s easy to get into our lives so much that we fail to take the time to get to know others. We might mingle at after the Sunday morning church service a bit, or catch up in the break room at work. Does that feel like an authentic community of individuals?
It’s important to spend time alone with God in Bible study and prayer. But The Heavenly Father didn’t intend for us to live in isolation from other believers. He designed us to thrive in relationship with others. We’re our best version of ourselves when we’re experiencing all life has to offer with other believers. That means everyone (no matter who you are) needs to be part of a thriving Christian community. That goal doesn’t just happen automatically.
It requires effort, commitment to each others, faithfulness, and
obedience to God’s calling to discover the value of a small group within the
Christian community. Individually, members of the Christian community need to
focus their minds on God’s promises, turn away from sinful habits, and be a cure of hope for others in the
Christian community. It’s not possible to be successful on our own. Living life
together in the Christian community is vital.
24 We should think about each other to see how
we can encourage each other to show love and do good works. 25 We must not quit
meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each
other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day [of
Jesus return to Earth] getting closer. (Hebrews
10:24-25, (ERV)
“More important, Christian
community is not something about which we can arbitrarily make decisions. It is
not an optional extra.” (Alan Hirsch)
“There are many elements that go
into the total concept of fellowship as it is described in the New Testament. But
the sharing together in suffering is one of the most profitable. It probably
unites our hearts together in Christ more than any other aspect of fellowship.” (Jerry Bridges)[i]
[i] Inspired
by the sermon “Rooted and Built Up: A Built Up Body” (installment five) Sunday
July 8, 2018 Elder Ryan Edwards CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
Additional sources used: “4 Reasons
the Bible Calls Us to Community” by
Stewardship
Team
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