One thing I love about doing life and serving God with others is that we get to see the image of God displayed in each other differently.
We are all made in the image and likeness of God, yet we are all unique. The way we experience the world, the way we process things, the way we give and receive love, and so many other things are unique to each individual; yet we are all made in the image of one Creator, God. How boring would life be if we were all the same? If we all had the same opinion on every topic? If we all liked the same music, food, movies? When we spend time with others we get glimpses into more of who God is. We learn more about his heart, what makes Him tick, what gets Him pumped, what pulls at His heart, and what dreams He has.
One thing I love to do in community is read God's Word. It's amazing how you can take one verse and go around a room and ask, "What stuck out to you in that verse?"
“You’ll get different answers from every person because God made each us to experience things differently.”
Some may connect to something in an emotional way and others in a more analytical way. The awesome thing is, we get the opportunity to think about God's Word in a new and different light than how maybe we saw it. Maybe there was a part that you just glanced over that really stuck out to someone else, and God speaks fresh life into his Scripture through another's perspective. How cool is that?
I strongly believe Scripture was meant to be read in community.
If you need another reason, just look at the language that is used in the Bible itself. Many times, in place of words like me, mine, and my, you will find words like our, us, and they. Take for example when Jesus teaches about prayer in Matthew 6, he teaches us to say, “OUR Father...give US this day OUR daily bread (…)”
I think a lot of times we focus so much on our relationship with God as just one-on-one, me and Him, which don't get me wrong, that's important and there is a place for that, but I also believe our relationship with God can become strengthened through community. There are just too many verses about it to think anything other than that.
Hebrews 10:24-25 talks about ways to "stir one another to love and good works," Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, gives us the analogy of a threefold strand that is not easily broken, and Galatians 6:2 reminds us to bear one another's burdens. I love the way Paul conveys the image of the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:25-27,
“That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it”
Think about it. If you were on a team, and every time someone fell or got discouraged the team rallied around them and picked them up, how much stronger would that team be? And how much easier would it be to carry someone if we were all working together to lift one another up? When one person's win becomes the whole team’s win everyone's spirits are lifted and motivated to continue pressing on. That is because, simply put, life is better together. Life in community pushes us to grow. It makes it so that we never have to go through a difficult season alone. It makes it so that we can lean on each other when faced with an obstacle because where one part of the body may be weaker, the rest compensates for that to keep running towards the finish line.
ACTION STEPS
- If you aren’t already, start by getting planted in local church.
- Spend time with people from church outside of church. You can do this by joining a small group or Bible study, sharing meals together, having coffee with a friend, going out and serving the community together!
- Ask God to help you see more of him through the people you come in contact with daily.
Until Next Time,
Kaitlin