Together
One of the most profound aspects of Jesus’ last night before His crucifixion is not His determination to follow His Father’s will, nor His agony in prayer, nor His composure when confronted by the lynch mob, nor even His final miracle—putting Malchus’ ear back on the side of his head. It is that He, the Son of God, called three separate times for His friends to be sure He wasn’t alone during His darkest hour. He longed to know He was part of something besides Himself.
Stu Weber, the author, wonders if King David would have had his illicit affair with Bathsheba if his best friend Jonathan had been alive to help break his precipitous and ungraceful fall.
Moses took Aaron and Hur with him to the hill top when he surveyed Israel’s battle against Amalek.
Jesus sent the disciples out two-by-two, not one-by-one.
Evidently, God is serious about our encouraging each other, sharing together, and bearing one another’s burdens. He wants us to behave like a body: unified, self-sacrificing, accommodating, and caring.
He probably said it best when He said, “They will know you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”
It occurs to me that being a body and loving one another isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. Self-sacrifice sometimes requires a little patching up with salve and band aides, even in the body of Christ.
Just as God never intended for us to be isolated from Him, I think the Bible makes it clear: He doesn’t intend for us to be isolated from His body either.
While this might not always appear to be the most graceful arrangement, the fact remains: When we behave like the body of Christ we exhibit His grace as only loving Believers can. God says this will let others know we are His.
Well, I feel better now.
My tumble wasn’t simply to provide entertainment for the teen-age girls after all. It has become a graphic example of how we—the body of Christ—work together to reflect His life in us.
However, for your hand’s sake, I might suggest that you watch your step when being followed by a group of young girls on a field trip to the museum.