Saturday, April 20, 2024
Last week, we talked about being made new in Christ. This week, we’re going to talk about community and why it is so important in our pursuit to carry the “newness” in our lives throughout the New Year.
The most popular New Years Resolution is losing weight. Personally, I’ve probably made that one ten times! I usually make it about a month of eating right, prepping weekly meals, and working out three or four times a week. Then, I get close to Valentines Day, and all I want is a giant Hershey’s kiss heart of chocolate…then some pizza…then a milkshake, and it all goes downhill from there.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we commit to something, then give up before reaching our goal? We have a moment of weakness and, in that moment, it seems so much easier to give into temptation than follow through with our commitment. “I’ll have just a cheat weekend and get back into the groove on Monday.” Monday comes around, and our cheat weekend just turns into bad habits once again.
During Jesus’ ministry hear on earth, he created a community among his disciples. During times of need, they had each other for support. When things got tough, they were able to pray and follow after Jesus together. We need the same in our lives. When we feel like we’re slipping spiritually, we need to ask our community to rally around us. We need people kind to encourage us, but also steady to hold us accountable. People to come alongside us to share in the burden of fl eshly temptation and celebrate in the triumph of holy perseverance.
The application I leave you is this. Surround yourself with people who desire Christ more than you do. People who challenge you to keep pressing on when you feel like giving up. People who encourage you, build you up, and help you reach the goals you’ve committed to pursuing in the new year. We are not meant to walk this life alone.
Read: 2 Timothy 1:7, Galatians 6:2, and Proverbs 12:1
