The Blessing of Community

A Devotional by

Pastor Bobby

The hard truth is this, we are not meant to live life alone. The problem is that most people now and days are extremely lonely. Even with access to modern technology that can bring people together from across the world. Even with this technology we are lonelier now than we ever were. Can you image that? most of us spend hours on social media sites, or on our phones. However, there is a pandemic of loneliness going on in this world. In an article by Science of People, they found 58% of Americans feel invisible or lonely. That is over half of Americans. And that is most likely because we do not have genuine relationships anymore. Which is because we have our head in our phones a lot more than focusing on the world around us. Don't get me wrong, I understand why this is the case. The world is filled with bad news on a daily. So, I get why most people would rather be on their phone. There are times that I rather be on my phone. Lost into a happier world.

The problem is like I said before, God created us to be in relationships with others and to be in community with others. So, the question is, what is community? According to Merriam Webster community is, "a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common." We see that this is what God wishes for His people. When God created man. He did so, so that Adam would be in relationship with Himself. And then God also gave Adam a wife. Telling Adam in Genesis 2:18 ESV, "¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Then in Genesis 2:22-23 ESV "[22] And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23] Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Now this is not saying that you must be in a romantic relationship. As Paul says, singleness is a gift as well. But anyways, one of the first things God does for Adam is give him a mate. However, that is not the only type of community God sends us. He Himself wants to be in relationship with us as well. More than that God wants us to be in community with Him. James 4:8 ESV, "⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." For right now focus on the first part of this verse. If we draw near to God, then God will draw near to us. God does this because He desires to be close to us. Like I said before God desires community with us. As Christians we must be rooted in communion with God. He desires it, and we need it. If we are not trying to have an active relationship with God and be community with him. Then we are like a T.V that is not plugged in. It's still a T.V. but it won't do much because it's not plugged in to its power source. We are the same way, if we are not in community with God then we are not plugged into our power source. We need to be plugged in to God.

God also desires us to be in community with other believers. At this point a good question to ask ourselves is, what is the church? Acts 2:42-47 ESV says, "⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe^[a] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Acts show us what the church is and what it is not. The church is not a building. The church is a community of believers who under God are living the Christian life together. Or at least that is what the church is supposed to be. Now some churches have fallen short of that, and I really don't want to focus on that in this devotional. However, we need to be in community with other believers. The Bible tells us this over and over again. There has been this battle probably since the modern church has started. Which is that, going to church is not what saves you. Which is true, the grace and love of Jesus Christ is what saves you. All you need to do is accept Him as your Lord and Savior. However, God does still call you to be a part of the church community. You might be asking yourself, why? "I have been hurt by the church before." Or "The church is filled with a bunch of hypocrites." And as I said to a point that is true. But there are also many blessings for being a part of a true community of believers.

The main idea of this devotional is to encourage us all to live in community with God, our families, and with other believers. And to see the blessings that can come from it. The first blessing you can get from the community of believers is the shaping of our faith. Proverbs 27:17 (ESV) "[17] Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs show us that we sharpen each other. We make each other strong, it helps us refine our faith, and it helps up grow in our faith. When I was in college, I had a group of brothers in Christ that sharped me. We would pray together, read the word together, and keep each other accountable. I know that God used these men, to sharpen me. The second blessing is you have someone to watch your back. When Jesus sent out the 72, he sent them out two by two for a reason. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV) says, "[9] Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! [11] Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? [12] And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." When we are alone, guess what that means.... We are alone. As Ecclesiastes point out. When we fall, we should have someone pick us up. When people snuggle up together, they are warm. So on and so forth. The main thing is having a community helps you live life. You have someone to pick you up with you get knocked down by the world. It is easier to be get up when someone is there to help you up. This makes me think of my work in recovery ministry. There were many times that a brother would call me after a relapse, or when I messed up, I would reach out to a brother. And the Holy Spirit would help us to get back up. Now we didn't condone what that person did. But out of love and respect. We would help lift that person up. This is exactly what Galatians 6:1-2 (ESV) tells us we need to do, "[1] Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. [2] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." And so, we must be open to this. The third blessing you see is that it will protect you from attacks from the evil one. Back to the Ecclesiastes passage. 4:12 tells us that two can defend off an attack better than just being alone. We have remembered that the evil one is like a wild animal. Who wants to attack and kill believers. The best way to do that is to wait a weak prey who is alone and wounded. But if we have a community, it is easier for us to defend an attack from the evil one.

The bottom line is this. We need a community. More than that we need a community with Jesus as the head. Colossians 1:18-19 (ESV) "[18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, " Jesus is the head. And we should want to be in community with Him. The way we can grow that community is by being in community with other believers.

All in all, church hurt is real. But so are the blessings of having community with Christ and other believers of Christ. So, find that community so that you are not out in this world alone.