Stirring Up Love and Good Works: The Power of Christian Community

This morning, while spending time with Jesus, I came across this verse:

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:23–25 ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016)

So, I have a question for you. How do we, as Christians, stir up each other to love and good works? (I’ll wait 😊) Okay, you can put your answers in the comments.

Here’s how I see these being accomplished by us.

To stir each other up, we need to spend time together. True, messaging and social media can help, but as the rest of verse 24 says, “not neglecting to meet together.” Meeting together is not limited to a formal church service. The Body of Christ (we believers) are more than a community; we are the family of God.

I’ve had the privilege of marrying into a family of five sisters. During the many years my wife and I have been married, I’ve watched the dynamics between her and her four sisters. Thankfully, they fiercely love each other. Whenever one of the sisters decides to tackle a project, the rest are 110% for her.

There is good-natured comradery among the sisters. Their conversations may be brief or last for hours. They help each other, encourage each other, pray for each other. They share a resilient bond that has grown stronger with time.

As the family has grown, grafting in sons-in-law and their kids, I’ve seen strength building strength within the family. This is how we in the church should be.

Holding back, being aloof, or having false humility weakens us and deprives the church of our God-given talents. We stir up love and good deeds by being friendly, loving truly, and being ready to lend a hand. And we “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.¹“

God desires us to be active in our local church families. As you bless others, you will be blessed by God.

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Footnotes

1. Romans 12:15 – Forgiveness. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved August 1, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/romans/12-15.htm ↩︎