It is quite easy to be dismissive of the power that can be found in the Church, the Body of Christ. But there is a spiritual power and a physical edification that awaits any individual who involves themselves in fostering community with fellow Christians. This should be considered a necessity to every believer.
Being involved in others’ lives and having them involved in your own life is another aspect of the Christian life that is vital to actually living the Christian life wholly. This is not to gossip or having knowledge of another’s private affairs for the sake of feeling superior to them. Being personally involved in others’ lives as well as letting them into your life is actually mutually beneficial, if done right.
To commune correctly is to see fellowship as integral to loving the Lord and living for Him. Committing to performing these two particular reverential actions will also involve loving His creation (His servants, those who deny Him and/or those who do not know Him). It is realizing that a life is all the more radiant and fulfilling when it relishes in connecting with others and aspires to be completely like Christ.
Therefore, one must follow the example of the Christ by bringing back to remembrance His own actions to live out this Christian endeavor. Think about it: our Lord and Savior’s ministry on Earth involved His very own disciples. These men and women were his community on Earth.
Additionally, His miraculous power is continuously displayed today through those that show themselves to be His servants. We, those lovers of Christ, get to be used by Him as conduits of His love, His mercy, His encouragement, and so much more. If we would just take it seriously, then we would see the abundant blessings working through us and coming back to us in an ebb-and-flow manner as we minister to any number of souls that we come into contact with daily.
How magnificent to have a God who takes pleasure in having His creation play a role in the fulfilling of His Will–sometimes, a major role. Even when we think of those saints who have blessed us by interceding for us in prayer, praying the prayers of the church fathers, asking that the Theotokos intercede on our behalf, we are, in some sense, involved in this prayer “network” on a grand scale spiritually.
This network, a Spirit-filled community of believers who have actively seek each other, is one of kind in that it is guided by and undergirded by all that our God is. We are His community here on earth as the angels are His community in the heavens. If we continue to embark on this Christian journey, while dismissing the need to embrace others in the Body of Christ, then we will only do a disservice to the faith and commit an injustice to our very souls.
To exist in a faith that appears to be a solo mission of sorts is really to miss out on what Christianity is entirely. How can one love the Lord while simultaneously not desire to share the love that He gives to them?
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