I recently came across a blog that reminded me again of the need for us to be connected relationally to each other. Here is a portion of that blog by Steve Cordle...
There are many today who would say “My spirituality is private, I have my own beliefs, and I don’t need to be part of a church to believe in God, and I can pray anywhere I am.”
And that is partially true: we can indeed (and should) pray in all sorts of places, and church membership is not required in order to believe in God.
However, God’s intent for us is much more than to believe he exists or to pray from time to time. God’s intent for us is to become spiritually mature, and in order to do that we need to be connected to other people.
Ephesians 4:13 describes God’s goal for us: “…we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
The passage mentions many other people who are involved in our maturing process. In verses 4 and 12 Jesus followers are called “the body of Christ”. That tells us we are not isolated spiritual free-agents, but connected parts of a whole.
If our only connection with other believers is in a corporate worship service, we will not have as much opportunity as we need in order to mature spiritually. The connection we require is both ”shoulder to shoulder” and “face to face”.
I want to encourage you to get some “face to face” time this week with other believers. A great way to do this is in one of our five small groups!
Blessings,
Jeff Powell
