Not Alone
Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
—1 Corinthians 12:27
God said it is not good for man to be alone. Loneliness can be a terrible bane. So God made us male and female, to add balance and spice to life. God made marriage for mutual companionship and mutual help—especially since opposites attract. For example, where one is tone deaf, the other may be musical.
But opposites can eventually irritate each other too. So love and respect for each other’s strengths and forbearance of each other’s weaknesses are necessary for it all to work.
But whether God has called us to be married or single, there is another community that soothes our loneliness: the church of Christ. Yet some of the same dynamics come into play there as in married life. In the church we are one body, but each person is different. And Jesus commanded us to love one another. That’s a tall order! Don’t break the unity of the Spirit and leave the fellowship, or you will be alone, as Adam was before Eve came.
Use your talents together to glorify the God who calls us to be like a light in darkness to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Patiently learn to work together in the church; listen carefully to each other. Don’t leave in a huff when things don’t go exactly the way you like. The church brings deep companionship and balance to our lives as few other things can.
Lord, everything in our society conspires to tear us away from the church, the body of Christ. Help us to be faithful members of your body. Amen.
About the author — George Young
George Young, a native New Yorker, worked as a taxi driver in New York City before studying to become a pastor. Then he, his wife Ruth, and their children were missionaries for many years in northeastern Japan. They worked with ministers and believers from the Reformed Church in Japan to spread the good news of salvation in Christ and establish new churches. Now George and Ruth are retired and live in the northeastern United States, nearer to their children and grandchildren.
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