We were built for Community

 

A couple of weeks back, I planned to give a short lesson at our Ladies Bible Study, but it had to be cancelled that particular week. But ever since, I have had this on my heart to share and have decided to try and condense it and put it here on my blog, praying that you will be encouraged and helped by what the Lord has been teaching me on this subject.

Have you ever considered that we are all physically, emotionally and spiritually hardwired by God for community?

God built us for community. God is a community in himself. Existing for all eternity past, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have enjoyed perfect fellowship in their triune community.

But God didn’t stop with that. He made man, in his own image, to be in community with him. And he made woman to be a help meet for man.

Genesis 2:18 KJV - And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

The Bible is full of examples of community. We read of the Israelites, God’s chosen people. God lived and worked among them, and they worshipped him together in community.

Leviticus 26:12 KJV - And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

And then, in the New Testament, we read of the first church, a body of believers, a community.

Acts 2:42, 44, 46-47 KJV - And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. ... And all that believed were together, and had all things common; ... And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV - Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Outside of Jesus, relationships are the greatest gifts we have on earth and also some of the most difficult parts of life.

Built within each and every one of us, is a pattern for experiencing an intimate relationship with God and then expressing that love to each other.

Community is important. And finding your people and fellowshipping with them is important. It’s important to God, and it should be important to you!

But remember, investing in relationship is not about simply pursuing our own happiness. It’s so we can be effective for eternity. It’s so that others will come to know Christ because of our love for them. It’s up to us to show the world God’s love and that our love and connection will speak volumes, so much so, that it will cause others to want to follow God.

I also want to remind you, in case you have a rose-tinted glasses idea of relationship, people will not complete and fill you. Only God can do that. Only God can meet all of your emotional needs and it is wrong to expect any one person to do that.

Only a relationship with God can fill the void, but God chooses to use people in our lives to complement us and to edify us, and to grow us.

Notice the spelling of that word complement. This is not compliment, the kind that we all like to hear, but complement, a thing that contributes extra features to something else, in such a way as to improve or emphasize its quality. To provide something felt to be lacking or needed. Something that fills up or makes better.

We need each other. You need people and they need you. It’s not always going to be easy, and it takes hard work, but God wants us to live in community and he wants us to be discerning as to who we choose to fellowship with and who we choose to grow in relationship with.

It’s sad that over the past few years, we have decided that we can exist on our own. We replaced physically meeting with each other on a regular basis with online church and zoom calls and work from home, and self-serve checkouts and online shopping etc.

As one of my favourite authors put it: “We’ve replaced intrusive real conversations with small talk and substituted soul-baring, deep, connected living with texts and a night out together occasionally”. J.Allen

Why do we need each other? And why does togetherness matter to God?

Matthew 18:20 KJV - For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

*We make each other better - Proverbs 27:17 KJV - Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

*We fight for each other to not be distracted by sin - Hebrews 3:13 KJV - But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

*We are one body and function better together - 1 Corinthians 12:20 KJV - But now are they many members, yet but one body.

1 Corinthians 12:26 KJV - And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

*We need each other to live out God’s purposes - Romans 12:5-6 KJV - So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

There are so many reasons we need community and I’ve only touched on a few.

Just like a branch that grows because of its connection to the tree, we thrive when we stay connected to the church and fellow believers of like mind.

So, the question is, how do we find a body of healthy believers and is it even possible? We all know that no church is perfect, as we are imperfect people who, only by the grace of God have experienced his saving power and been gifted with an eternity with him.

But I think there are a few things to look for.

1.     Direction – Is the church community and its members headed toward a deeper relationship with Christ? Are they willing for God to convict and discipline them? Are they seeking guidance from God continually? Are they desiring to learn from the Word of God, and search the scriptures daily?

2.     Vision – Do they have vision? Do they have a ministry vision? Do they have a plan of where they want to be and where God wants them to be as a church? And does this vision line up with the Word of God?

3.     Lifestyle- Do they live out the truth? Do they take seriously the responsibility of representing Christ to the World? Do they have a good testimony in their community?

4.     A healthy fear of God - Do they recognize God’s greatness? Do they show God reverence? Do they have a correct view of God?

The test of a healthy church isn’t their perfection, but their priorities. No church is perfect, and we will always struggle to like certain Christians, but we are all called to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord, whether we like them or not!

It’s not perfection we should be seeking. It’s not who has the best worship music or the best children’s program or women’s ministry or playgroup. It’s all about who is devoted to God, who is obeying his voice, who is preaching and teaching his Word, accurately interpreting the Scripture, listening to his leading, delighting in God and delighting in each other. Committed to reaching a lost world with the gospel, not concerned about numbers or programs or status, but seeking to walk in the will of God, consistently and humbly.

We need a shared purpose. We need to choose friends who will fight for us. Friends who will fight alongside us and friends who will fight against sin.

We need each other. No one can be your everything, but everyone has something to speak into your life, something to teach you, something to bring into your life that will help you grow, whether it’s through trial or blessing.

We have to be intentional in seeking out the right kind of community to live and work in. We have to be brave enough to reach out to others who we may not seem to have much in common with. We need to ask the hard questions and be willing to listen and receive those hard questions with a submissive spirit.

If you’ve been hurt by church in your past, don’t let that stop you from seeking out other believers to connect with and start again. It is hard work, I won’t deny it, but God built us for community, and he wants us to grow in our relationship with him and then channel his love through to others.

In order for us to have true Christian fellowship, we need to be first devoted to God’s Word and to his will and then we need to be devoted to caring for one another. 

To work together for God’s glory, we need the Lord’s help. We are sinful creatures, and we don’t love others as we should, but in order for us to truly fellowship with each other, we need the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

How often do we truly love the brethren? And as Christ loved? The Bible clearly states that by our love shall all men know that we are Christ’s disciples. So, when we have love and we show this in our fellowship, we are obeying God’s commands. And this means loving the unlovely. Those Christian sisters and brothers who we find it a struggle to be around. The world is looking on and watching how we treat each other.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

If you want community, God-honouring community, and edifying, encouraging, God-centred relationships, you have to be willing to fight for it.

You have to stop believing the lies of the Devil that tell you you are better off alone. You have to turn a deaf ear to the lie that you will never find true connection and that you can worship on your own and don’t need fellowship.

We need people and we need community. We need a network of regular people who are present in our daily lives. People who care and are concerned for our spiritual well-being. People who want to have deep conversations about the Word of God and what God is doing in their lives. People who are not content to meet up once a week to listen to a sermon and sing a few songs. We need invested friends. We need to surround ourselves with people who have the potential to make us better. People who will hold us accountable. People who are devoted to growing in their spiritual walk and are unashamed of the gospel.

Hebrews 10:24 KJV - And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Now, if you look around you and you can’t see anyone who fits the bill or any body of believers that checks the boxes, then you be that person. You be that friend. You start that community.

It starts with you. It starts with your relationship with the Lord.

Fellowship is first vertical. Our relationship with Christ. And then it is horizontal. Our relationship with others. We need to strive towards developing a deeper level of fellowship that goes beyond earthly commonalities and reaches upwards towards Christ then outwards to our brethren.

If you want community, fellowship and lasting relationships, you need to take that first step.

Proverbs 18:24 KJV - A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Step out of your comfort zone, be willing to find yourself in uncomfortable situations, be willing to put in the hard work, be ready for disappointment, but be excited to see what the Lord can and will do with a humble heart devoted to him and his work.

It is possible. God didn’t emphasize it so much in Scripture for no purpose. He longs for us to experience true Christian fellowship and he sets the perfect example as a triune God. Working together as three co-equal persons, but in perfect harmony.

Built for community!

 

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same tuning fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So, one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” A.W.Tozer