Not Alone
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers.” Acts 2:42
This verse and the ones that come after it describe the early church. By this point Jesus had already ascended into heaven after being raised from the dead and the believers had received the Holy Spirit. They came together praising God and praying to Him. They had communion together, as a reminder of what Jesus had done for them on the cross, and fellowshipped together.
Fellowship means that they came together and were a part of each other’s lives, which revolved around praising God and spreading the gospel. They didn’t just go to church together, but they lived their lives together, eating meals and reaching out to the poor together. This is the way it’s supposed to be. Not that all believers should do everything together and live in one big house (that’d be a very big house), but we should share our lives with other people.
And they didn’t just share their lives with anyone , but with people who had the same goal as them: to praise God and further His kingdom. That’s what we need to do. We should live our lives in community with other Christians. We know that we’re not supposed to be alone; like when God created Eve so that Adam didn’t have to be alone. God has called us to live holy lives but we can’t do that by ourselves. We need His help and the help of other people who are also seeking to live the way God wants us to.
When we live our lives with other Christians, we can encourage each other. If we start to forget how great and good God is, other believers can remind us and encourage us to keep going. When we live our lives with other Christians, we can pray for each other. We share our burdens with other people so that we don’t have to carry them alone. When we live our lives with other Christians, we can help each other to live holy lives. We can call each other out when we notice someone doesn’t have the right attitude or is doing something wrong.
Being part of a community of believers helps us come closer to God because we can share His love and grace with other people and spur each other on to getting closer to Him. Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.”
Even before Jesus came into the world and gave us hope of salvation, it was recognized that people sharing life in unity is something we should seek.
As we share our lives with other Christians, it’s important that we remember that no one is perfect. We need to show grace to those around us just as God showed us grace. This means forgiving people when they mess up and not judging them for it. It means remembering that we make mistakes too. It means keeping in mind the fact that God loves and cares for everyone else just as much as He loves and cares for you.