Day 17

Doing Life in Community

Ps Neralie Clark

1 John 1:3 ESV

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim… to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

The apostle John is reminding us that we can learn and grow in our faith from those who have gone before us, those who have walked longer in the faith than we have. And this mutual fellowship is grounded in our fellowship with Our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne Graham Lotz, in her book, Jesus in Me, in talking about how fellowship affects our faith, uses several analogies: "A burning log removed from the fire eventually stops burning. A fish removed from water eventually stops breathing.

When a star runs out of hydrogen, eventually, the star stops being a star.

So it is with us; without Christian fellowship, our faith will falter. We need community."

Jude, Jesus' brother, wrote in Jude 1:20-21 NLT:

"But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God's love."

False teachers were infiltrating the early Church, so Jude encourages them as a community of believers to use their gifts to build one another up to strengthen their faith and help keep them on the right track. God has always intended for us as believers to do life in Christian community, which is why He created the Church.

In our world where people in public service are even being criticised for their Christian faith, we realise how important meeting together weekly is; to combat discouragement in our faith, to remind ourselves that we are not alone but are part of a body of like-minded believers who come together to encourage one another, to worship together, to celebrate our relationship with God and to receive a fresh touch of His Holy Spirit. We do this because our primary life focus is our love for God. 

Prayer: 

Lord, help me never take for granted the freedom I have to gather with other believers as the local Church, to worship You, to grow ever closer to You through the teaching of Your Word and the encouragement of other believers. Amen.