I have a good friend who likes to think of himself as a real maverick in the Christian community. His name is Bob and he’s always likened himself to a “out of the box” kind of believer… a real “lone ranger” in the Christian faith. Bob hops around to different churches and often on Sunday mornings you’ll find him golfing with his buddies. Bob’s the kind of guy who feels closer to God when he’s mountain biking or fly fishing… much closer than when he’s in church with other Christians. In fact, he’s told me he finds church a little boring at times (like church might be “beneath him” or something).Bob is pretty proud of the fact that he breaks the Christian mold, especially when it comes to really being involved in church life.
And that makes me wonder whether or not Bob even understands what it means to be a Christian. Because if you look at the Bible, almost everywhere you look, God is commanding His people to get involved with each other. Plus, God seems to go to great lengths to press His children up against one another, forcing and pushing and prodding us to not-so-much become one (because the Bible says we already are)… but God presses His children to act like one. And this means the Christian walk is a lot – a whole lot – of what I like to call “one-anothering”.
For instance, just consider this… Zechariah 7 says, "Show mercy and compassion to one another." Jeremiah 9 says "Teach one another." Leviticus 19 says, "Do not deceive one another." Romans 12 says, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." Romans 15 says, "Instruct one another." Elsewhere it says to submit to one another, encourage one another, and spur one another on toward good deeds. And friend, that’s just scratchin’ the surface; that’s only a few. But the best one of all is where Jesus says in John 13, "Love one another."
Did you get all those “one anothers”? And the thing about one-anothering is that it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It cannot occur when you are by yourself. The body of Christ is all about being and doing something good “to one another.” If my friend, Bob dares to say he loves Christ, then he must love the bride of Christ; that is, His church. You can’t say you want to spend time with God (golf course or mountain biking or wherever) and not say you want to spend time with God's people. That’s a lesson my friend needs to learn, and maybe you need to learn it too.
So today, find some other “one another” to show mercy and compassion to, or give instruction to, or spur that one onto good works, or offer encouragement to, or submit yourself to another, be devoted and love one another as Christ has loved you. Because one-anothering is one way to show the Lord that you love Him.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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