Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Why Community Matters
Everybody knows how beautiful it is when we find a community that we can be a part of. Some of us are in a season right now where that may not feel readily or regularly available in our lives, and we have a deficiency that we operate in simply because we don't have people surrounding us.
There are others who, in certain seasons, have had times of transition where we've had to leave a community. It's been heartbreaking to know that the people who've been a part of our lives—who have supported us and encouraged us and poured into us—are now being left behind as we move into a new season. I give you these scenarios because community matters probably more than we even give it credit for.
We're Not Meant to Walk Alone
I think all throughout the Scriptures there is something that's reaffirmed that I find vitally important for the follower of Jesus, even in a contemporary time: we are not meant to walk out the Christian life on our own. I know that might even sound a little bit unique to our ears, because of how a lot of us have learned to talk about our devotion to God.
We think about our quiet times, and it's usually about us alone with the Bible, learning from and communing with God. Maybe we think about our personal relationship with Him. We think about our personal devotions that we spend time learning from, and all of those things, hear me say, are vitally important. If we're not careful, though, the way that we talk about our faith can creep into individualism in a way that it was never intended to be.
The reason I tell you that is we are meant to benefit from the brothers and sisters in the faith who surround our lives. I actually am strengthened and built up by brothers and sisters in Christ—some who are older, some who are younger, some who I would call peers, some that I watch from afar. It's a beautiful thing, the way that God has developed and designed our lives to live in rhythm with one another.
Helping Others Where We Are Strong
The faith journey has always been meant to be more communal than I think we give it credit for. In today's Verse of the Day, we see this directly stated: "We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord."
We should want to help others who are in our community. Those who are around us should benefit from the places where we are strong. The verse right before this talks about that idea—that there is strength some of us have developed over time. When we have a strength, we should be seeking to use that strength for the people who need it in the community around us.
Carrying the Load
There's one silly idea that I think probably a lot of us could relate to, and you've probably been asked to help in this area and maybe haven't been super excited about it. That's right—it's when somebody's moving, and you get that call to come alongside and help them get some furniture from the top floor down into the truck, or maybe help somebody move a piece of furniture from one room to another.
That's not always a fun call to get, but who usually gets that call? Well, it's usually going to be somebody who's got a little bit of strength—probably some muscles. They're the ones who are getting called upon regularly to help carry the load.
What if that were true spiritually as well? What if we, who have resources and ability and strength in our faith that have come through time and maturity, have the chance to come alongside other people who might benefit from those areas of strength we've developed over time? What if God actually intended that we would work together in rhythm so that we could serve one another in community?
I think that's true. This verse reminds us today that we should have lenses through which to look at the world, to see where we can help others in community, in faith.
