The Community of Believers, Part One:

The Challenge

The very first man on earth was alone. Well, not exactly all alone. God was there with him. He was, however, lacking human company. While we don’t know exactly how long Adam was solo, we do know that it was long enough for his loneliness to become plainly apparent. God’s response to this was, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Thus, God created the very second person on earth – a woman, to be the man’s helpmate. God recognized and provided for the need that the man had for relationship – and of course that was part of His plan all along. It is not good for us to be alone. From the very beginning we were designed to live in community with other people.

This past year was a tough one. Not one of us has gone without being affected in some way by the events of 2020. Now, believe it or not, we’re already over a month into 2021. Yeah. That went fast. Time flies… whether or not you’re having fun, it seems. I know many were hoping that the advent of a new year would also bring about a significant change in current events, but here we are. Not much has changed yet besides the date we write on our checks. In a lot of ways, the world seems like an unfamiliar and unfriendly place right now. Many of the things we used to believe we could always count on have become uncertain and unreliable. Unfortunately, this uncertainty and unreliability extends beyond the mere availability of toilet paper and cleaning products. In fact, it reaches to the very heart of our relationships with those around us.

From the coronavirus pandemic, and all the hot button issues surrounding it, to the extremely divisive political climate we are currently experiencing in the US – our communities have taken quite a hit. One year ago, we began by “social distancing” in an effort to protect them. However, in the course of time we have come to put much more than six feet of physical distance between ourselves. Social distancing has transitioned into emotional distancing and social isolation. People are pulling away from each other. Communities, and even families, are becoming fragmented. Neighbor is against neighbor. Friend against friend. Family against their own. Regardless of your personal political leanings, or your views on various other polarizing topics, I think we should all be able to agree that the amount of hostility that different factions are displaying towards each other is distressing and concerning. Far too often this discord is reaching into our churches, and that’s what I really want to focus on today.

What do we do when the person we are sitting next to in the pew on Sunday doesn’t precisely agree with our viewpoint? How do we deal with that? Do we allow our disagreements to drive a wedge in between us and our fellow believer? By doing so, we have accepted and adopted the standard practices of the world. This is a problem! As followers of Christ, we are called to adhere to a different standard. We don’t have to search very hard to find what God has to say about the topic in His Word – it’s in there quite literally from the beginning to the end.

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

– Psalm 133: 1 (NIV)

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

– Ephesians 4: 2-6 (NIV)

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

– 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14 (NIV)

Consider what descriptive words we see in these passages referring to unity – good, pleasant, humble, gentle, patient, peace, one (body). I cannot reconcile these descriptions with much of what I see and hear happening both in individual churches and in the wider community of believers. Indeed, I notice a lot of the opposite happening. Far from being peaceable with one another, there is a great deal of strife. Instead of patience, we see contention. Division takes the place of oneness. This discord splinters the Body and causes us to become ineffective. Satan knows this! The enemy of our souls knows very well how much stronger we are when we live in community with each other. He knows how much weaker we are when we become secluded and alone.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

– Hebrews 10: 24-25 (NIV)

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

– Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 (NIV)

Is it any wonder that he seems to be working overtime to sever the bonds that connect us? He is using such things as the pandemic (masks, social distancing, vaccines…), politics (taxes, immigration, voting…), and more (parenting styles, financial choices, butter vs. margarine 😉…) to splinter and divide. It should not be so! We aren’t talking about sin issues here. We’re talking mainly about things that are, at their root, just personal preferences. Whether or not I agree with you about masks shouldn’t affect my ability to fellowship with you. Your feelings about vaccines should have no bearing on whether or not I am willing to worship alongside you. I shouldn’t withhold my assistance from you when you’re in need based on your voting record. Your parenting style can be different than mine without causing a fall-out in our friendship. The challenge is this:  To resolve to purposefully and intentionally live our lives in community with each other. The key words there? Resolve. Purposefully. Intentionally. Just as loving our spouse is a purposeful and intentional choice that we make every single day (the lack of which will negatively affect our marriage), so maintaining relationship with our fellow believers is a purposeful and intentional choice we must make every single day, or we risk becoming more susceptible to the enemy’s attacks. A choice to let our emotions take over and lead our thoughts and actions is a choice to expressly ignore what we’ve clearly been called to do. Take some time to really think this over and prayerfully consider: Are my actions reflecting how Christ has called me to live, and thus proclaiming His love to those around me? Are my attitudes and emotions causing me to live in conflict with my fellow believer? Are there any adjustments I need to make to correct errors that I have made?

Achieving unity within the Body of Christ is not necessarily simple or easy. Community living can be downright difficult! How do we handle it when our fellow believers do things that are designed to pick at us, or are downright malicious and hurtful? It's not easy to deal with. I think it’s a topic that needs its own post, so check back later for, “The Community of Believers, Part Two (Facing Conflict).”

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

– Matthew 18: 20 (NIV)

Click here to read Part Two.