This piece of scripture is well known to many. After the creation of Adam, God discovered the first thing that was not good on this earth, that Adam was alone (Genesis 2:18). So God created Eve from a rib in Adam’s side as suitable helper for him. As a partner to come along side Adam in marriage and life. It is truly a beautiful moment of God ordaining the first wedding of history. Creating the first family. The intention of God is that we do not be alone. While I love this image of God creating Adam and Eve for relationship and marriage, I think there’s a much bigger picture here. We as humans do not just live better in community, we were created for it.
A large aspect of the World Race is living in community. Intense and constant community. I thought I had understood community living after living in a sorority house with 55 other women for three years, but this is different. You not only live with your team for months at a time but you all go to ministry together. You eat with one another and pray with one another. Your team celebrates your great moments with you and sees you through your valleys. And if you don’t “buy in” to this lifestyle, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But when you buy in and choose to embrace community rather than endure it, wow it’s a beautiful thing.
I don’t think it’s an accident or just “good writing” that followers of Jesus are called the Body of Christ because without one another, we could not stand. People and community are not just nice to have around, they are essential.
The entire book of Ephesians is a beautiful guidebook of Christian life and Christian interactions. In chapter 4 verses 14-16 Paul writes:
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
?Okay, that sounds great and poetic, but what exactly does it mean? To me, the most powerful word in this passage is the word “we”. We is a declaration, a promise, that you are not alone.
I’ve heard that misery loves company but I believe that company pulls you out of misery. I can think of numerous times where I was low or in my own head and someone pulled me out of that place. Whether it be a listening ear or a perspective shift, time and time again there has been someone there to be strong when I felt weak. And that’s exactly what God intended! He did not make us all with the exact same ideas, thoughts, and skills. How boring would that be? We wouldn’t be people we would be mindless robots (and in every movie that has mindless robots, it never really ends well).
We are not just called to me encouraging to one another but we are also called to call each harder and that, sometimes, is harder. When we love someone, we want them to succeed. To do good. To thrive. So when we see a brother or a sister acting or behaving in a way that could hinder their success and ultimately their relationship with the Lord, we owe it to them to call it out lovingly. Proverbs 27:17 reads “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”. We have an obligation to sharpen one another and hold one another, and ourselves, accountable.
More than that though, we also have an obligation to hear words of encouragement or correction from a friend. Earlier in Proverbs 27 in verse 6 it reads “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiples kisses”. When we love people, we say hard things to them and in turn, accept hard things when people who love is build us up.
That is what is so beautiful of the Body of Christ. While we are all called to different strengths and parts we are called to work together. A body cannot function in pieces the same way the Body of Christ cannot function divided. We each have a beautiful role to play and God has such a plan for each person. We are called and designed for life with one another in community. We are called to encourage and call higher. To offer grace, peruse reconciliation, forgive freely, and whenever possible, love others by serving them well.
