Guardians Of The GospelSample

Do you prefer being with others or alone? There is a common movie trope where the ‘I work better alone’ announcing protagonist (usually a grouchy detective) ends up saddled with a suitably odd couple-esque partner who they then grow to respect over the course of the movie before realizing that they were better off together all along.

It can be all too easy to think that you can go at it alone in life, but we were not created to be alone. We have been created from and in the image of the eternal relationship of the triune Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit. Created for a relationship with Him and with each other.

To be alone is the opposite of what you were created for so it should come as no surprise that loneliness is rightly acknowledged by Psychologists today as one of the most destructive long-term mental states. You don’t have to be on your own to feel alone either. Some of the loneliest people are actually surrounded by others. But relationships can be tricky. Indeed, we enjoyed perfect communion with God in the Garden of Eden and still managed to make the relationship status complicated. People let us down and we let others down.

Paul makes note to Timothy of a few people who have wronged him along the way. Alexander the metalworker comes in for a particularly harsh rebuke, recognized as having done the apostle ‘a great deal of harm.’

When we get hurt by other people, we can be in danger of isolating ourselves from others, seeking to protect ourselves from being hurt again. If you have ever been the recipient of a great deal of harm from someone, it no doubt left a lasting effect that transcended the end of the relationship. Beautifully though, for all those who have been disloyal and have caused him harm, Paul still cherishes relationships with others. He doesn’t allow the failures of some to tarnish the necessity and potential of others.

It’s risky, of course, to trust others who can let you down. And yet knowing we would still let Him down, Jesus died for us. The starting point is to trust in the one who never will let you down. In light of a relationship with Him, find perspective and provision for all other relationships. For Christians, we find a relational community on two connected fronts:

1. God is our first community

No matter how other people might let us down, God never will. He stands by our side and gives us strength. In every circumstance of life, God is with us, not least as we are faithful to the proclamation of His glorious gospel.

2. The Church is the extension of that community

God has supplied us with each other to offer practical support and compassion. If you ever wished God could give you a hug when you needed one, that’s exactly what He desires to do through His people. Paul, knowing he is likely to die soon, calls for his dear friend Timothy to come to him quickly. He doesn’t want to miss the chance for a final connection, a final chance to share in brotherly fellowship that reveals something of the eternal fellowship of all believers with their God.

The world needs to know the community of God. By His design, this is to be achieved through the community of the Church going into the world in word and deed—supporting, encouraging, and holding each other accountable as we do. We go into the world, with God by our side, as one Church family to tell the world that God has taken care of our complicated relationship status with Him. They never need to be lonely again.

Advancing the Gospel - join the movement

One of the core principles of Advance is accountability. In each session, those in the group fill out accountability forms, which help each person reflect on their spiritual health, emotional life, habits, relationships, and more. Time is made to give feedback and pray together as we encourage each other to grow in holiness and trust in God’s power to help us.