Following Jesus TogetherНамуна

Paul might compare following Jesus to boxing and running in 1 Corinthians 9, but the Christian life is more like a team sport than a solo sport. Even in solo sports, athletes need others around to compete with! Runners go faster and further in a race than they do in training. Imagine a boxing match in an empty stadium with one fighter flailing around as he swipes at thin air. Why should he work hard when no one is pushing him, no crowd or coach is spurring him on? Too many Christians live like this, professing a hope that doesn’t shape their life or agreeing with some ideas they aren’t devoted to.

We won’t go far alone, so Hebrews tells us to encourage one another and continue meeting together. Some people struggle with Church gatherings, but gathering to worship and pray with others, letting our minds be renewed by the reading of the scriptures and sound teaching, and receiving communion is one of the ways God meets with us to strengthen our faith. The reason we call it a Church Service is not because we are gathering to serve but because we are gathering as one body to be served by God, to receive life from him, to enjoy him, and to enjoy the family he has grafted us into.

Being part of a church isn’t always easy. Every relationship we have will include conflict, and when you bring different people from different cultures, backgrounds, and temperaments together, of course, you will experience conflict. Working through these conflicts is worth it, though. It sharpens us, and it sharpens our brothers and sisters as we work through it. Love is not just a feeling; it is a commitment we make to one another in baptism.

When we accept the challenge of loving each other as a church family, we are experiencing the fruit of salvation – passing from isolation and death to love and life. When we love one another, we worship God. Whatever we do for the least of his people, we do for him. When we love one another, we show each other God’s love. How will you be spurred on towards love this week? What can you do to worship God through loving his people?