We really can't do this alone.
We can't walk through this life thinking we are okay in our self-sufficiency.
Yes, as a believer we need Christ in every step along the way, whether we choose to call up on the gift of the Holy Spirit or not, but let's take this on a little bit of a different route. Community with other believers, through Christ, is a deep longing and necessity felt by even the most secluded and alienated of us Christians. Even our brothers and sisters that would consider themselves more on the "loner" end of the social spectrum need the occasional reassurance and physical outpouring of Christ's love that can only be brought on by someone who has themselves felt it.
I'm currently reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together". I went in looking for "Cost of Discipleship", and when I couldn't find it I asked the guy at the desk for help. I was slightly annoyed that not only did they not have the book, but that the cashier had never heard the name Bonhoeffer before [and to you guys reading this thinking "I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to pronounce that word for the last five minutes, much less do I know who he is…", I urge you to get out and change that. He lived an incredibly rich life for the sake of the gospel and his writings will move you]. Anyways, after spelling his name for the guy about 5 times, this sweet old man in Carhartt overalls and a John Deere hat [thank you God for Tennessee] walks up to me with "Life Together" in his hand and says "I think this is what you were looking for…and if it wasn't, then let it be" and then winked. God bless him he was cute and I have not stopped being thankful for his recommendation.
"It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians." -Bonhoeffer
How often do we look upon the GIFT of Christian community and fellowship as our right as a believer rather than a privilege of knowing Christ? Especially those of us who call the "Bible Belt" home…we're surrounded. I have a hard time reading long quotes sometimes, especially ones that are typed out in blogs, so I skip ahead and wait for the blogger to elaborate…but I urge you to really read the quotes that come below. He says it so perfectly and eloquently that me trying to put it in my own simple words will do nothing but take some of the richness out…so here goes…
"So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing…But they remain alone in far countries, a scattered seed according to God's will. Yet what is denied them as an actual experience they seize upon more fervently in faith."
Jesus had his disciples...Paul had Timothy…and this was during a time where the early church was being built and its followers were scattered; not able to have a weekly meeting ground, a congregation, a Facebook group dedicated to prayer requests of a group of believers. Any interaction with a brother or sister whether that be a letter from across the known world, a brief prayer in passing, or actual visit was of greatest comfort to those who were scattered for the sake of the Gospel…
"But if there is so much blessing and joy even in a single encounter of brother with brother, how inexhaustible are the riches that open up for those who by God's will are privileged to live in the daily fellowship of life with other Christians!"
"The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer."
I have been undeniably blessed, especially in my college years, with the community that surrounds me. While in college for my first degree, the community that I was a part of was without a doubt, an anomaly. I was a girl who went from maybe having one friend that I considered even slightly trustworthy in high school to a girl in the middle of something special. Something that only made sense because of Christ. There were about twenty of us who held tight to the foundation of love that bound us all…we all had our seasons of doubt, rebellion, loneliness, and misunderstandings, but no matter what happened we knew we had each other. We knew that we were bound together by something much bigger than we could understand. We loved each other…and still do. There are some of us that should have never been friends by the world's standards. Such different backgrounds, upbringings, views on theology and the world, and desires, but we shared a common love of Christ and a common need to see it played out among believers. Still even now we talk about how we love the fact that we can be separated by states, countries, and years and our reunions feel like we are never out of each other's presence. It's seriously beautiful.
The only common ground we need with other believers is Jesus Himself. Not sports teams, not music, not anything other than the fact that we both know the redeeming nature that Christ's love provides. Wanting and desiring this fellowship doesn't show you as weak, needy, or even that you can't find what you need in Christ alone. It's a natural longing of the Holy Spirit that indwells in you to be connected with itself in someone else.
"It is true, of course, that what is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day. It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren."
Do not let a moment pass you by with a brother or sister where you aren't letting them know how much they are loved and praising God for letting you have the opportunity to do so.
Thank you Jesus for your innumerable blessings, and especially the unity that comes from knowing you.
