You’ll Never Grow in Isolation

Imagine that you go to see a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. But as the curtain rises, you see there’s only one person on stage. They’re going to try to play this iconic piece of music…as a solo.

Horrible! That music was intended to be played by a group of musicians.

I’m a musician and trust me, every musician knows that music is about community.

When I’m playing my stand-up bass in a jam session with other musicians, and we’re improvising and laughing at each other, it’s a joyful, robust experience. You can’t replicate it!

A solo performance never even comes close. And life is the same way.

You and I are hard-wired for relationships because we were created by a relational God.

He exists eternally as three persons — Father, Son, and Spirit — in perfect fellowship with one another. When He created humanity in His likeness, He created people who thrive in community and wither in isolation.

And regardless of your personal preferences when it comes to how much you hang out with other people, you need fellowship like you need food. You can get by without it for a while (some of us not as long as others), but eventually, you gotta eat!

Jesus took care of that for us. Think about the Gospel… Because the fall of humanity put us far from God, Jesus came after us, lived among us, and showed us the way back to God. But not only do we need close fellowship with Him, we need each other. So after He reconciled His people to God, Jesus calls us the Church, His hands and feet, His bride.

But here’s the problem: We live in an individualistic society.

Twenty-first-century Western society doesn’t always believe in finding its core identity in a tribe. Our modern thinking says that the individual comes first. And sadly, this tends to rub off on our spiritual lives too.

In the early church, you were not known as a follower of Christ unless you were a part of a church community that met together regularly. And becoming part of a community meant you were vetted and shown to be a person who could be trusted and contribute to the church family.

But today, it’s more and more common for people to try living out their Christian faith apart from authentic community. I get it—it feels safer, easier, and more manageable to keep your distance. And it’s way less messy!
I love how John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” From the beginning of the church, God has designed our fellowship to be the mechanism that demonstrated the Gospel message to the world!

My gentle nudge for you today is this:

Consider how God might be inviting you into a more engaged commitment to your community of faith. And if you have been hurt or distanced yourself from your church community for whatever reason, it’s time to come back.

Be a contributor to that community. Give and receive. Because they need you, and you need them. It’s essential not only for your own spiritual growth but for the growth of others.

Let’s make music!

Questions to think about:

-Are you living in community with people who love you and help you walk the Jesus path?
-Are you loving them back through authentic fellowship?

Prayer for today:

-Let’s pray that God would encourage us to encourage others by regularly investing in our local church community.
-Let’s also pray for those who need to find a church community, that they would see past the messiness and step into the adventure of being part of a faith community.