Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NKJV)
How open are you to help?
Sometimes, it can be totally awkward to ask for help. I was a shy child, and the thought of raising my hand and asking the teacher a question in class was terrifying. Something about it put me outside my comfort zone. Of course, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown out of that, but it’s interesting to see how far I’ve come.
Today, I was reflecting on the power of community. Many times when I have faced a challenge, God provided someone to guide me. Sometimes, I prayed and asked for help, other times He simply provided the help before I could even think of it. Whatever the case, I was extremely grateful.
Community is a significant part of our faith. God places loving each other as a command. Romans 13:8 states, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” We can exercise love through acts of service such as being hospitable, praying for each other, going out of our way to meet a need. But I find when it comes to correcting each other, we tend to shy away.
Truth is tough to tell. Like asking for help, it can be completely awkward. We might fear offending someone we care about or being rejected. However, the greatest way to show love is to show the truth. God loves truth. His Word is based in truth, and He warns that there will be a time in which people will turn away from it:
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).
This passage in 2 Timothy displays the reality of human nature: we’d often rather entertain lies, or fables, instead of the truth!
So, it is essential that we remain accountable to each other. As Ecclesiastes 4 mentions, there is power in two people who are in community together. If one falters, the other one can build him or her up. It’s essential that we look out for each other, because there will be times when we fall.
There’s no power in community if we aren’t building each other up.
Let the Lord guide us in love. And let us be motivated in love to encourage each other, speak up when there is wrong, and help each other. The truth might be hard to swallow at first, you may have to stand alone because of it, but silence is not worth it. Staying silent means nobody has the opportunity to learn and mature. It means we’re allowing things to continue that should not–often things that are against God’s own Word. Pain, regret, and mistakes are often the result of ignorance. There is too much at stake.
If you’re struggling to share the truth with someone today, ask God for the strength to obey, the love to follow through, and wisdom you need to say the right words.
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
(John 8:31-32 NKJV)
LizMargaret 