Life is for Togetherness – Part 1

 

Ecclesiastes 4:6-12 “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle gave a special sermon on the anniversary of the founding of City Church of Anaheim, California. He stated that the one lie which we are all tempted to believe in our lives is that we are to bear our burdens alone. There is actually great power in togetherness. The age-old truth, and the purpose of the Christian church is that life is for togetherness. Genesis 2:18a tells us the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” God created us with a sense of family within community for a shared human experience in the bond of being connected to one another. Father God longs for us to belong in His family and in His church – together in ministry. The goal is not the meaningless pursuit of the things in life that will not produce lasting joy or cause us to feel isolated and empty, but happiness and fulfillment in communal love. 

Galatians 5:16-26 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now

the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,

drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that

those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

There are ties in the human struggle that it feels like life is pointless. But, God gives us a choice each day to either live in isolation or togetherness in spirit and in relationships. It is easy to get to the point where we say, “I do not want to burden anyone else, so I shall do this myself.” But, this is really shutting people out who love and care for us. Saying, “I can do this myself” or “I am the only one who can do this” is narcissistic at the root and removes our opportunity to receive from others. It may sound noble to say such things, but it is not. Isolation masquerades as wisdom. If you want to make lasting changes, you need to get out of isolated rows and choose to get into circles where the power of togetherness kicks into high gear and life-changing experiences take place. 

Let's continue Pastor Kyle message of togetherness in the next post.

In Christ, Brian