Yes, it’s hard. But it’s worth it!

 

Have you ever seen a Redwood tree? Or a photo of one? What a majestic sight they are! They are some of the largest and tallest trees in the world. Their seeds are as small as a tomato seed and yet they can grow to around 100metres tall. That’s as high as a 35-story skyscraper!

They can have a lifespan of over 2000 years, and their diameters can reach up to 8metres across!

But interestingly, they only have a very shallow root system, reaching only 5 or 6ft deep.

So how are they able to live so long and grow so tall without toppling? How have they survived earthquakes, landslides, floods, strong winds, and other trees falling against them?

Connection, that’s how.

They intertwine with the roots of other redwoods for added stability. Their roots can extend up to 30metres away from the trunk of the tree. So, they reach out, not down.

When we look at a giant Redwood, all we see is the height and size of the tree but there is an intricate network of intertwined roots underneath.

This intertwining creates a strong support system that helps the trees withstand powerful winds and storms. These roots form a complex web beneath the forest floor.

The process of root intertwining, or “root grafting,” goes beyond just providing structural support. Through their interconnected root systems, neighbouring trees share essential resources like water and nutrients.

This mutual sharing of resources ensures the growth and survival of every tree in the redwood forest. If a neighbouring tree is struggling or injured, the surrounding trees can provide extra support and nourishment through root grafting. It’s like a natural safety net that helps maintain the health of the entire forest ecosystem.

When one tree has an abundance of resources, it can share them with its neighbours that may be in need.

So, redwoods do not survive alone…EVER. They form “tribes” or communities. Sometimes they grow so close to each other that they merge at the base into one tree. Each tree supports and protects the other.

What does this remind you of?

What a great picture of our need for one another in the Body of Christ.

WE NEED EACH OTHER!  

 

Well, what a blessed few days I have just had! Last week, I was blessed to attend and speak at a Ladies Conference where women from Katherine and Darwin gathered to fellowship, learn, study, connect and grow in our Christian walk.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Unity and Community”, building connection and growing and serving together as a Christian community in order to reach a lost world.

I wanted to try and summarize my hour-long lesson into a blog post for those who could not attend and also as a refresher for those who came. Unfortunately, the audio of the lesson didn’t work and as some have asked for it, I will do my best to formulate a very condensed version and hopefully not lose the context and content of what was said. You won’t be able to experience the visual object lessons, and the emotions expressed, the atmosphere of the room and the connection we felt, but I pray you will be encouraged as we all were with what we learned from our days together.

I will break the lesson up over a few days, so the bites are not so large, and you can take some time to chew them over.

 Grab a cup of tea, get rid of the distractions and settle in.

 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt lonely? Everyone has felt loneliness at some point in their life and possibly even right now. Please know this. You are not alone in your loneliness.

We are more “connected” (online) than ever before, but studies have shown that we are lonelier than ever.

When was the last time you had a long, deep conversation, face to face, with a friend?

One of the key reasons for loneliness is that we give up too easily. Friendships take time.

Remember when friends were easy to come by as children? If they happened to live in the same neighbourhood, they instantly fell into the friend category. Proximity created friendship. It was as simple as knocking on the door and asking them to come out and play. We didn’t wait or hesitate or overthink. It’s a lot harder to navigate friendships as adults.  

I want to answer these 3 questions:

What? What’s the big deal about community?

Why? Why do we need each other? Why do we need community? Why is it important to God?

How? How do we find our people? How do we build community? What are some practical steps to building live-giving friendships?

So, what is community? In a nutshell it is this: a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society, sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common. A unified body of individuals

Simply put, the Christian community is composed of those who love Jesus and fellowship with each other and serve one another.

If you don’t already know this, hear me now. We need each other. King Solomon puts it like this:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 KJV - Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

We have assigned this passage to romantic relationships. It does apply to marriage, but it was more than likely written in the context of friendship. Healthy, Godly community is supposed to be just as supportive as a healthy, Godly marriage.

Right from the beginning God designed us for connection. (Genesis 2:18). We were built for community. God is a community in himself. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, living in perfect harmony for all of eternity, past and present and future.

It’s God’s idea for us to live in community with others. He is a relational God who designed us in his image. Built within us is a pattern for experiencing intimate relationship with God and then expressing that love to others.

Relationships are one of the greatest gifts we have on this earth, but they are also one of the most difficult parts of being alive. Would you agree?

We need invested friends. People who have the potential to make us better. We need friendships that go beyond a Sunday morning greeting, a brief hug, a handshake and a comment about the weather. We need people who will hold us accountable and are devoted to growing in their spiritual walk and will encourage us in our walk. And we need to be that friend to others.

All too often, we don’t tell it like it is. We put on a brave face and lie about life. We want people to think we’re stronger than we are. But sadly, we’re only robbing ourselves.

God gave us the gift of community. We need to make use of it.

When we don’t share truthfully, we miss out on carrying each other’s burdens, but we also miss out on rejoicing with each other. (Romans 12:15)

There are a lot of reasons we go to church, but one of them is to build a thriving, loving, Godly community.

Building a community takes time and effort. It requires us to step out of our comfort zones, prioritize relationships, and be intentional with our time. Making time for it can feel like just one more thing to manage. But it’s so important. We are stronger together.

Building community and unity is not just about needing others, it’s about living the way God designed for us to live: TOGETHER!  Isolation may feel easier for the moment, but it’s not sustainable or fulfilling.

One of my favourite authors said this: “We spend hours alone in our crowded, noisy, screen-lit worlds, we invest only sporadic time with acquaintances, and then we expect close friends to somehow appear in our busy lives. We’ve replaced intrusive, real conversations with small talk and substituted soul-baring, deep, connected living with texts and a night out together occasionally.”

It’s sad that over the past few years especially, we have decided that we can exist on our own. We’ve 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.

When we try to navigate life on our own, we miss out on the joy God gives us in relationships. We were never meant to carry our burdens alone. We were never meant to celebrate our joys and successes alone. No matter how much you may think you can master it all on your own, and no matter how independent you are, you need others. And others need you!

Remember, investing in relationship and building community is not simply about 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. Our love and connection speak volumes to a lonely world. (John 13:34,35)

Let me remind you though, that unity is NOT uniformity! It doesn’t mean dressing the same. Acting the same. Worshipping the same. Believing the same. Yes, we need to agree on the core doctrines of the Bible if we want to have true fellowship, but unity is not uniformity. One size doesn’t fit all.

Unity is about finding common ground and working together.

Uniformity is about forcing everyone to be the same.

Unity has to do with oneness. Being one in purpose. Being in harmony.

There are many passages in the Bible that mention “one mind”. Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:2; 1 Peter 3:8 just to name a few. (Take some time to unpack the verse in 1 Peter and you’ll find some interesting gems in understanding what the words mean. Hint: harmonious; tender-hearted; compassionate; friendly; kind.)

Community and unity are related to fellowship. If you’d like to read more on the subject of fellowship as we find it hidden within a word in Hebrews 13:15,16, then go and check out my blog post via this link: Fellowship connection

Can I remind you that it is so important to be grounded in the life of a local church. It’s where discipleship takes place, compassion, friendship, encouragement, accountability, exhortation, prayer, mentoring, shepherding, teaching, discipline.

We belong together. We need each other. We are not perfect. We are a community of fallen and redeemed sinners who come together to do life together and to help each other in the name of Jesus. 

Let me give you an example of why we need each other and why who we connect ourselves to matters.

Mark 2:1-5 KJV - And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

Did you notice that it was the friends’ faith. NOT the sick man’s faith? You can’t tell me that your friends don’t matter! What kind of support system do you have? Are they there for you when you need them? Are you there for them when they need you? And what kind of faith do they have?

If you contrast this with the man found in John 5 who sat by the pool of Bethesda, hoping for a miracle, you’ll see that he had no man. He had no one. He had no community.

Are you getting the point that we need each other? Do you understand that it is important to God that we build strong friendships and authentic Godly communities with our fellow believers?

Christianity is not a faith that’s meant to be lived out alone.

In the next blog post, I want to give you some reasons in the form of 4 points as to why community is so important.

In the meantime, take some time to dig into the Word and look for yourself. How many times is unity mentioned? How often do we see the phrase one mind? Look for examples of God’s people supporting each other and working together.

God bless and see you soon xx