We Need Each Other

We Need Each Other
When growing up, did you ever play a team sport? Or maybe you participated in a high school band or orchestra. In either case, part of your responsibility was to practice to improve and hone your skills so you were ready for the game or performance. But it was never just about you. When it was time for the game or concert, you were part of a group, a team, playing together.

And so it is with us as Jesus followers. We thank God that we can have a personal, and intimate relationship with Him through Christ’s death and resurrection. We seek to grow in our faith and understanding as we study the Bible and lift up our prayers to Him. But it is not just about us as individuals. We are not alone. We are part of a much bigger team of Jesus followers, and God has called us to act as a team as we live out our faith.

We can support and be supported by one another through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul, an early Christian leader, expresses this as he records in the Bible “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world (Romans 1:8).” Paul notes that they are setting an example for others in the faith, and others are learning about Christ because of them. They are having impact and influence!

Paul cares for them as individuals and as groups. He lifts his readers up as he prays for their wellbeing. “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people… (Ephesians 1:15-18).”

We are doubly blest both in our personal relationship with God, and as members of a large group of believers. This includes those who have gone before us, those we currently engage with, and those that will follow after us as we, along with many other Christians, pass on the faith to future generations. We are not alone, we’re in this together!

In this closing prayer, using words from a dynamic song of praise, we celebrate our identity as members of God’s great, big family!
Lord, we stand in the midst of a multitude,
Of those from every tribe and tongue.
We are Your people redeemed by Your blood,
Rescued from death by Your love.
There are no words good enough to thank You,
There are no words to express my praise.
But I will lift up my voice
And sing from my heart
With all of my strength.
Giving glory, giving honor,
Giving praise unto the Lamb of God.
(Hallelujah to the Lamb by Don Moen and Debbye Graafsma)