Saved individually. Love Jesus as a group.
My wife and I were watching a TV show where the major character was having a meltdown. During which, he went out into the pouring rain to build a wall…all by himself. He worked hours upon hours on that wall.
His classmates watched and wanted to help him, but were told by the headmaster not to lift a finger until the young man asked for help. All of a sudden, the young man stood before them in their warm and dry dining hall. Totally broken, he said, “I need help.”
His fellow classmates left their hot meals behind and ran out into the cold pouring rain to help him finish that wall. All he had to do was admit that he needed help.
How often do believers act like this young man? Yes, our initial decision to follow Jesus was made individually, but loving Him through each choice is done with others.
There is a reason why the Spirit put us into the body of Christ the moment we placed our faith in Jesus (1 Cor. 12:13). There is also a reason why He had the following words penned, “Confess your sins one to another and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).
Transparency with at least one Jesus believer is a prerequisite to making the kind of choices needed to experience the life we came to Jesus for in the first place. We can hit the wall on our own or we can build the wall with others.
I have been struggling with discouragement this year so far, but I have been doing so largely on my own, not saying anything to anyone about it. Last night at a gathering of local disciples, I really needed to be encouraged by the Great Physician through my brothers and sisters, but I did not say anything about it. I am not entirely sure why. I guess I don’t like to admit when I am weak and need things from other people.
I always think of what more I can do, what more I can bring to our times together, how I can be better prepared. How foolish! God doesn’t need my proud strength. What he wants from me, and what our community needs, is my honest weakness. (Man, is that hard to write!)
Thanks, Chris, for your timely words!