“…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV)
As Christians, we are called by God to do many things: deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ, spread the Gospel, and obey God’s commandments, to name a few. Another very important thing the Bible calls us to do is to assemble with fellow believers.
Our Christian walk on earth is not meant to be traversed alone. God calls us to come together to encourage one another in our faith, draw strength from each other, and love each other.
We all know that this life offers many trials, hardships, and temptations that challenge our faith, and when facing personal challenges, struggling with sin, or experiencing turbulence in faith, it can be tempting to crawl into a shell and isolate oneself from others. However, this is the opposite of what we should do. As Christians, we shouldn’t close ourselves to others.
I can personally attest to this. I experienced a season when I moved to a new city and had yet to find a church to join. I was experiencing a lot of change at that time and felt very challenged in my faith. My first inclination, especially as an introvert, was to isolate myself. I always knew that God calls us to be in communion with fellow believers, and for my entire life, myself and my family have always attended church, but it wasn’t until this personal experience where I did not have a church community that I understood, for myself, the importance of having a physical community of believers around me. After some time, I joined a church and have been able to serve and create meaningful relationships. Simply seeing my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ every Sunday reinvigorates my faith.
This is the benefit of belonging to a community of Christians. We gain access to like-minded individuals who can encourage, comfort, help, and pray for us. And we, too, are responsible for doing these same things for others.
Hebrews 10:25 also emphasizes that we do this “…so much the more as you see the Day approaching,” meaning that as we approach the day of Jesus’ return, it becomes even increasingly important that we assemble with one another. The saying goes that there is strength in numbers, and as times become more challenging to maintain our faith and finish the race set before us, we must be in unity with fellow believers to achieve this.
Jesus’ prayer to the Father, right before he was betrayed, arrested, and eventually crucified, was that we have unity with one another. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21, NKJV). This verse is so beautiful to me because it demonstrates Jesus’ desire for us, His children, to experience completeness in unity with one another just as he is in unity with the Father. And so we should strive to be in unity with fellow believers around us.
So, how do we achieve this? Consistent fellowship with another believer by becoming a member of a church, attending Bible study regularly, and having accountability partners are examples of how we can create strong relationships with fellow believers and draw strength, love, correction, and encouragement from one another through our faith in Christ Jesus.
