"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
I think there is a commonly accepted lie within the church that says something like this: "Jesus is the only one you need!" Now before you close out your browser and call me a heretic, please listen to what I am saying. To a certain extent this is true. Our hope, dependence, and life should have Jesus at the very center of it. But just because this is true, it does not eradicate our *need for good, wholesome Christian fellowship. In fact, from the very beginning God expressly states "It is not good for the man to be alone..." (Gen 2:18). Though some would argue that this is meant only in the context of marriage, I believe it involves more than that. I believe this particular passage highlights the importance of companionship in our lives. All throughout the Bible, we see how even the mightiest of God's generals needed like-minded people to walk along side of them during life's toughest challenges. The great liberator Moses needed Aaron and Hur in the battle against Amalek, the man after God's own heart David needed Jonathan while escaping from Saul, and even the greatest of apostles Paul needed the Silas while sitting in prison. These are just a few examples given to us in Scripture that point to our need for companionship. So today we will examine the passage in Ecclesiastes and look at the 3 main reasons for community. Because the need for community is not a sign of weakness, rather it's a sign of wisdom.
Myth vs Fact: A Christian's Journey
If you've been following Jesus for any length of time at all, you have likely experienced first hand that the Christian life isn't always a perfect linear progression upwards into glory. Though this is certainly possible with the Holy Spirit's help, we don't always get it right and many times are found going back to the proverbial "drawing board". Generally speaking our walk with God seems more like a squiggly line with highs and lows on our journey to the Celestial City. Many of us will soon realize that becoming a disciple of Jesus, does not automatically kill the desires of our flesh nor eradicate our carnal way of thinking. Receiving Jesus into our hearts does, however, give us the power to overcome sin and darkness, but it does not cut it off from us immediately. Being a Christian does not make us perfect in conduct nor character immediately, but if we allow the process of sanctification within us, we will eventually become more Jesus-like each day (2 Cor 3:18). Yet the process of sanctification involves more than just our will and cooperation, it will oftentimes involve other believers.
I've fallen and I can't get up!
"If either of them falls down, one can help the other up" (vs 10). As Christians, we will sin. We will fall short of the glory of God and the need to repent should be a daily commitment. Proverbs 24:16 says it this way, "for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again..." So we know we will fall but God gives us grace to get back up. But there are times where getting up on our own can be harder than others. Sometimes it may even seem impossible depending on the depth of our sin. This is the first benefit of community: having other believers around us that can "pick us up" whenever we fall. Pretty much every Christian knows the importance of confessing our sins to God to receive His forgiveness. But did you know that God's Word tells us that we should also confess our sins to each other? (James 5:16). There are times where we will need other Christians to pray for us and help in getting us back on our feet. God has ordained this to be a part of living in community. Why? I honestly believe that God allows this to keep us humble. So that no one person thinks him/herself to be above reproach. Exposing our sin to others is sometimes much harder than when we confess it privately to God. Yet it is this very act of humility that God chooses to use in order to bring healing to our lives. God always uses people when He wants to do something here on Earth. That's why it is so important for us to cultivate the right relationships if we want our walk with God to be strong. Yet this isn't the only benefit to community, there are two others that we will also discuss.
It's chilly in here...
"if two lie down together, they will keep warm" (vs 11). Every relationship goes through seasons of winter. Whether it's a new friendship, your marriage, or your relationship with Jesus, if we are not careful to fan the fire, we can quickly become lukewarm and even cold towards the other person. Oftentimes this change happens gradually and without us realizing, we are left wondering whatever happened to us. The same happens to every Christian. When we meet Jesus for the first time we feel such intense joy, admiration, and love for Him that everything else pales in comparison. But as the years go on and our seasons change, what we once did out of love and gratitude we now do out of duty and ritual. Our relationship with God can become stale and lukewarm (Rev 2:4). This is the second great benefit of community: reigniting our passion and love for Jesus. 2 Kings 4 tells the wonderful story of Elisha and the Shunammite's son. The story goes like this: Elisha had previously prayed for a Shunammite woman to have a child and after this God granted her a son. The child was a dream come true for the woman until the day the boy suffered from a heat stroke and died after being out in the fields all day. In desperation, the woman calls for Elisha and begs him to pray for her son. But Elisha first sends his servant to lay his staff on the boy yet nothing happens. However when Elisha gets to where the child is and lays on top of him "mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands", the boy's body grew warm (vs 34). The child came to life again! The same can happen in our relationship with God. We can grow cold and even die spiritually. What do we do then? Well, when did the child revive? When the prophet got down to his level. When we are spiritually dying, we need to surround ourselves with those who are very much alive and on fire for Christ. We need to cultivate relationships with other Christians that can come up close and personal with us and provide the heat we need to extinguish any coldness in our hearts. Being around Christians that are on fire for God will after a while begin to ignite a flame in us, even if it was close to being extinct. But what about t
There is strength in numbers.
"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves" (vs 12). There are few Biblical characters that are better known amongst Christians and non-Christians alike than Moses. Moses is primarily known for leading an entire nation out of Egyptian slavery, the ten plagues, and parting of the Red Sea. He is also well-known for His intimate relationship with God even writing that God spoke to him as "one speaks to a friend" (Ex 33:11). Moses was by far a very strong man in God. Yet I am amazed at the story presented to us in Exodus 17 where Israel has to fight with Amalek. As Joshua and his army are fighting with the Amalekites, Moses knows his role is to support Joshua in prayer. Yet as mighty of a man as Moses is, he knows the burden of warfare is to great for him alone. So he includes two other men who are close to him (and strong in God) to help him out, mainly Aaron and Hur. So verse 12 tells us this, "When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset." So the third benefit of living in community is support during hard times or times of spiritual warfare. Regardless of how strong we are in God, we will at one time or another require the help of other believers. We, just like Moses, can grow tired and "weary of doing well" (Gal 6:9). And it is during times of weariness, when we become most vulnerable to the enemy. This is why we need to remain plugged in to a community of fellow believers because when we feel weak, our brothers and sisters in Christ can provide us strength.
My prayer...
Reader, I want you to know how important community is to our growth in Jesus. If you find yourself with little to no support around you, I pray that God would provide you the right friendships in your life that would ultimately bring you closer to Him. I pray that God Himself would place you in the right church and right group of believers and that together you all would "provoke one another to love and good works". Remember Jesus loves you and is always thinking of you!
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