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One Another

One of the blessings over the past half century or so has been the emphasis on “a personal relationship with God” that has taught that faith requires more than just being part of a group. For faith to be effective, I need to learn to pray, trust, follow and apply the teachings of the Lord to my own life. Ultimately, on the “Judgment Day” I will not stand with “my group”. My eternity will be determined by what I did about Jesus and his offer of forgiveness on the cross.

However, like most things in life, balance is necessary and in this case maybe we have overcompensated the other way. If, at one time, the prevailing thought was, “Just sit in this building as part of this group and you will be ok”, we may have swung too far the other way so that now we say, “My faith is about me and God and I do not need anyone else”.

Interestingly, though, the Bible seems to suggest that we do need one another. One of the places where this becomes evident is the “one another” passages in the New Testament which, in part, say things like: “Love one another… Be devoted to one another… Honour one another above yourselves… Live in harmony with one another… Stop passing judgment on one another… Accept one another… Instruct one another… Greet one another… Agree with one another… Serve one another… Bear with one another… Be kind and compassionate to one another… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs… Submit to one another… Teach and admonish one another… Encourage one another and build each other up… Spur one another on toward love and good deeds… Live in harmony with one another… Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

In Genesis 4:9, Cain asks the famous question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer to that question (as strange as it may sound these days) seems to be, “Yes! Yes you are!” I am responsible for my own faith, but somehow, too, I have a responsibility to help you along as well.

Maybe my “personal faith” needs fellowship with others, not in order to valid it, but to practice and grow in it.

If you are looking for a place to practice some of those “one another” things, please know that you would be welcome to join us at any time.

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