They say: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone…”

I’m 99.9% sure you’ve heard this phrase countless times after a breakup. Today I’m going to spin this overused quote a different way and apply it to community within the Church body.

In the past couple months community was hard to engage in. During college I found a church home that embraced me and all my strange quirks (obnoxiously loud and uncontrollable laughs being the frontrunner). They’ve loved me during life’s valleys, watched me grow in my faith, cheered me on in volleyball and so much more. After entering the “real world” suddenly making it to church on Sundays became impossible due to circumstances outside of my control. Accountability was out the window, worship seemed to lack luster and honestly I felt alone, vulnerable and left out for the wolves. When I entered back into community, I was immediately embraced and the relationships that were hard to maintain during my absence picked up right where they left off.

I say: “You don’t know how important community is until it’s gone…”

There’s a difference between knowing and realizing something’s importance. I’ve known what scripture says about the importance of community, but thanks to a community-less season of life I now realize its importance. There’s a reason Jesus tells us He’s present when two or more are gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20) and Solomon, in all of his wisdom, wanted us to know that one person can be overpowered, two can defend themselves and a cord of three strands is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Jesus prayed for the unity of believers (John 17:20-21) and Paul refers to believers as the body of Christ for a reason (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). We can’t do it alone. Satan wants us isolated so he can fill us with lies and make us turn from Truth. Jesus claimed the final victory, but there’s still a battle for hearts raging everyday and we all need backup!

If you are struggling and aren’t an active part of the body of believers, get involved…RIGHT NOW! Send a text, shoot an email, make a call. Do something! You weren’t created to enter battle alone.

Much love,

Meredith