Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10 for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up! 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
I believe strongly that mankind is meant to live in relationship to others and not by himself. Tim Tebow shares in his devotional on February 3 titled Created for Relationship that We need one another. God is a relational God. He made us to be in community. He made us to live in relationship with Him, first and foremost, and then also with others. While our society seems to emphasize the power of the individual, a stronger collective power erupts when we build and nurture a tight community. As you grow in your relationship with God, find others to experience this spiritual journey with you. Find people who will cheer you on, say the hard things you need to hear, pray for you when you are on the verge of quitting, and lend support when life throws inevitable curveballs. We are not meant to do life alone; we are meant to develop as individuals and emulate Jesus in the context of the people around us.
I have been concerned because we have had three prayer requests recently from our small congregation for families dealing with suicides, and all were young males. I wonder how young people can lose all hope in their lives that they choose to end their life rather than find their potential meaning in life. I believe there are a number of reasons for this happening so often in our country today. One culprit is certainly social media and its impact is twofold – (1) some people are content with focusing their lives in this manner instead of building relationships with people and (2) there is so much negativity and hate espoused in some social media that it can just sap the strength of even the strongest people reading it. Social media can also provide an opportunity for some people to also avoid developing friendships with others, offering people a life with a computer or phone screen as their best friend, and maybe they see it as their only friend.
The above scripture was written by Solomon, son of King David, and shows us the strength and power of living in community with others. We need to make more of an effort to reach out to others, young and old, who are lonely and alone. One of the reasons I am such a fan of our local Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is that they reach out and impact so many local high school and college athletes and make them aware of God, with many committing to God and giving all glory to God very publicly when they have success. Now I admit that athletes are already part of a team, but hearing God’s Word at a young age will still have a lifelong impact on them regardless of whether or not they turn their life over to Him in high school.
We need to continue to shine our light brightly for God, as Tina tells us and shows us each week in her message. We need to get others to see why we are so comfortable, content, and happy in our personal life even when there can be so much darkness around us. We need to share our belief with others in the hope that they can find the true meaning in their life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:27 – God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
God is available to us at any time through our conscience, and each one of us needs the encouragement to seek Him. Can we be the encouragement for someone else to reach out and seek God?
Also, next week Cindy and I will be out of town visiting some dear friends we have not seen in years. So I will not be able to send out a TGIF message next week. My message will begin again on Friday, March 1.