Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV)
People need people. We are created in the image of the God who made us. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27 NIV) God is a triune God, one God in three Persons. Within Himself, God is in constant relationship - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To be created in His image is to be created for relationship, with Him and with others.
People need people. We were created for relationship, first with the God who made us, and then with other human beings who form families and friendships and communities. One of the things God said early on about the man, Adam, He had created was this: The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18 NIV)
People need people. Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Everyone trips and falls sometimes. Metaphorically, if not also physically. I went out to check the mail a while ago, and saw one of my neighbors flat on his back in his yard, with another neighbor bending over him, talking to him. He had fallen and couldn't get back up. The two of us helped him get back on his feet and back to a chair in his garage. We need other people in our lives to help us up when we fall.
People need people. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? I wonder why it is that so often one spouse is warm blooded and the other is cold blooded? Sometimes the cold-natured person just needs to snuggle up to the warm-blooded person to keep warm. It's just as true with our hearts. The warmth of God's love and others' love warms our own cold hearts when we are lonely or reclusive.
People need people. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Unity generates power. One snowflake melts quickly on my hand. But thousands of them, stuck together, form a snowball that can break a window or knock down an unsuspecting person. And millions of them, stuck together, form a blizzard that becomes impassable except for powerful machinery to clear off the roads.
People need people. Jesus modeled it when He chose 12 men from the multitude of His followers and poured His life into them for three years before returning to heaven and sending His Spirit to use them as an unstoppable force to change the world. When He sent the disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, He sent them in pairs, together.
People need people. The early church worshipped together corporately in large gatherings, then gathered in house churches to break bread together, pray together, and encourage one another in their faith. Truth is, small groups of Christ followers sharing life together, worshipping together, praying together and serving together is the core strategy God has always used to build His Church.
People need people. John Wesley assembled the early Methodists together in Class Meetings and Bands to watch over one another in love. Class meetings were groups of 8-12 people who met weekly to encourage and pray for one another and hold one another accountable. Bands were groups of three to five people who met together weekly to go deeper and help each other live out holiness. And God used these class meetings and bands to grow their faith and transform their community. Historians believe the Methodist revival prevented England from experiencing the kind of revolution that took place in France, in Russia and in our nations in the 1700's.
People need people. This is one of five core values at Grace Church, where I serve as Pastor, and the direct outcome of holding this core value is that we are determined to be a church where people CONNECT with God and with others. (And GROW deep faith and SERVE as bold witnesses.) And so we want to become a church of small groups, no matter how large of a church God grows us to be. Because relationships matter. Love matters. People need people.
I believe the two things that can jump start any person's faith and transform our lives are to establish a daily quiet time of prayer and Bible reading, and investing our lives in a small group. Corporate worship is important. But we need deeper connections with God and one another than worship alone can provide. These two practices are all about connecting with God and with others, and they bring life and transformation.
One may feel peaceful and close to God in a fishing boat or on a golf course on Sunday morning, but there is something way more life-giving about spending time in open-hearted worship with other Christians that the fishing boat and the golf course cannot offer. God saves us by our faith in Jesus Christ into the community of the Church. He made us for Himself and for each other. And the next steps of deep spiritual growth beyond weekly worship are that daily quiet time and participation in a small group.
Some of us have been wounded deeply in the past and have put up some pretty thick walls around our heart. We have convinced ourselves we don't need people. The problem with the walls we build for our protection is that they also block the life-giving love and the transforming power of relationships in our lives. What do prisons use to discipline inmates? Solitary confinement. Walls of protection trap us and confine us just as surely as walls of imprisonment do.
People need the Lord, and people need people. To become a whole person and to thrive as God made us, we need to receive and give love. We need to build trust (faith) in God and in one another. And both the Word of God and history tell us the best way to do that is to live life in community with others.
If you are reading this today and not part of a small group that reads and studies the Word of God together, that prays for one another and encourages one another and holds one another accountable for living lives that honor the Savior who redeemed us all, then I would urge you to ask God to find and connect with such a small group for the good of your soul and the building up of your life. Make time for it. Invest yourself in it. And God will give the good reward for doing so - transformation of your life to deeper levels of Christlikenes.
If you are reading this, and you are part of Grace Church, watch for the formation of Life Groups within the next few weeks. Do this: jump in a small group and give it six weeks to see if you are growing or not through participating. I'm confident small group will become a good and holy experience through which God grows you deeper and deeper in your faith. You won't want to miss it. You need people. I need people. People need people.