And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)
When I was first hired to manage a tennis club (brave people!) I had already been the minister of a small church. With no club industry experience, I assumed I must have been the only candidate when they offered me the job. Several months later I asked one of the owners about that, and he said, “No, we just figured if you could handle a church, you could handle a club.”
Until then I hadn’t thought of clubs and churches as being similar. In some ways, though, they are. For instance, we love golf (though it cares not a whit for us), and we find ourselves joining a golf club. We love God (and he us), and we find ourselves in church. We become part of a community of like-minded people.
The fellow looked at the log, then at the fire, then at the preacher, and said, “I’ll see you Sunday in church.”Eventually I learned one thing that applied to clubs and to local churches: A sense of community is as important for the health of the entity as it is for the health of the members. But the communities we create are not the same as the community God has created, because membership is not the same.
Here is the difference: In golf we are members of a club; in Christ we are members of one another (Romans 12:5). In a club, you are one of many and easily replaced. In Christ you are one of a kind—a living organ, unique and vital to the body.
There’s an old story about a fellow in a rural area who got upset with his church and stopped attending. The preacher went to see him one winter evening, and as they sat by the fire the fellow said he could worship God just fine in his woods. He could talk to God, admire creation, and read his Bible.
The preacher didn’t answer but instead used tongs to pull a log off the fire and put it on the hearth. They both watched as the log lost its flame. The fellow looked at the log, then at the fire, then at the preacher, and said, “I’ll see you Sunday in church.”
When we are living in community as God designed it, both we and the body benefit. When we are not living in community, both we and the body suffer. How we live in community can look different from time to time. That we live in community, though, should never change. Together we keep the fire alive.
—
Lewis Greer
October 9, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Why Am I Here? 1: Bearing God’s Image
Why Am I Here? 2: Seeking God
Why Am I Here? 3: Pleasing God
Why Am I Here? 4: Sharing the Gospel
Why Am I Here? 5: Living Sacrificially
Why Am I Here? 6:Being Transformed
Why Am I Here? 7: Using Our Gifts
Why Am I Here? 9: Confronting Falsehoods
Why Am I Here? 10: Mirroring Christ’s Love