With this in mind I would like to bring the
focus in a little tighter and zoom in on that which currently surrounds
us. There is nothing any more precious
than when we cannot only realize the truth of Scripture but we can experience
them as well. This is such a wonderful
example of the providence of God. We
know that the Bible is a living a breathing book. It is simply amazing when God steps in to
personally get us to realize that He is working in our lives. There is no better place to realize this than
when in a small group and part of a small group ministry. I am currently in a small group at our church
of which they have been labeled as “Life Groups” and rightfully so. The members of our “Life Group” are doing
just that exactly, we are doing life together.
As believers we are members of the Body of Christ, we are all members of
the same church and we have even more personalized this by being members of a
small group. Like all believers, we have
all come from various backgrounds and have experienced a plethora of life
experiences. Yet we have all come to the
conclusion that life in itself is not really life if it is outside of
Christ. Our life sentence truly begins the
moment that we accept Christ as our Savior, born again to new life, to life
everlasting.
To truly grasp this life sentence we must
understand that God has created us to be communal beings. We begin life in a community called
family. His first commandment to that
family was in regards to family community, “So God created man in His own image; in the
image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) Then God
blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth
and subdue it….” (Genesis 1:28) From that small family unit we branch out
into other communities to help others experience life. Many of us will soon form a new “family
community” of our own and start the process anew. When you place three or four couples together
who have done life on their own to do life together you will have a vast wealth
of experiences including victories, failures and expectations.
God in His infinite wisdom knew that we need
community. We start from birth until
death striving for it. Community begins
with family at home; it is strengthened through school systems and the
educational communities, fortified through the workforce community, and
solidified in churches and in worship communities. I might also sadly mention that many end up
in nursing home communities prior to going home to be with the Lord.
We all long to share thoughts visions dreams
expectations with one another. Proof
that we are communal is seen in that the majority of our time around others is
spent in conversation. God placed that
need in man from the beginning, and it is evident when man first called out to
God and God responded to man.
Conversation / communication are vital to community, and if community
works as God would have it too part of that conversation / communication will
be in the form of group prayer as they seek to talk to God, to have community
with Him. How often can members of
various small groups be found, gathered together on their knees seeking His
face, His help, His strength, His wisdom and His peace. We do so for ourselves, for friends, family
and the church as a whole. God honors
this as many can testify to the abundance of answered prayer that has come from
these groups gathering, unifying and calling on His name. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell in unity together.” (Psalm 133:1)
Nothing shows us the truth of the word of God
more then when we not only encourage others to live this kind of life but that
it is our practice. Sadly there are many
who fail to do so. We are not meant to
live a life outside of God but a life surrounded and being surrounded by Him. We learn to walk after we crawl; we learn to
speak after we squall. All of us have
been taught by our parents, and our Heavenly Father does the same for us
spiritually. His desire for us is not to
fail but to soar.
