Arm in Arm

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47

I love that statement, “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” How was that happening? What were all of those people doing both inside those home churches and outside of them? They were shining their light. They were worshipping together, walking together, and witnessing together. The early church did not wait for Sunday to grow in their faith. They were growing every day of the week as they lived life in community with one another. People were being saved every day.

God has eternally existed in a group. There has always been one God, but there have been three persons in that Godhead. It is not a coincidence that Jesus began His ministry by starting a group of 12 disciples. He spent the vast majority of His time in that group. I am encouraging you to do what Jesus did – live your life in a small group of fellow believers. There is not one Christian anywhere that does not need to be in a community group, because we all need to worship together, walk together, and witness together.

Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play baseball in the Major Leagues. He faced unbelievable hostility in every stadium where he played. On May 13, 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers were playing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the booing, racial epithets, and jeering were completely over the top. He was standing at second base being humiliated as the “Boos!” were raining down on him. Looking down, totally miserable, and without saying a word, short stop Pee Wee Reese went over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Robinson and started scanning the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that that arm around his shoulder literally saved his career.

The Christian life is lived in a world that is hostile to the Gospel, to Jesus, and to biblical truth. We don’t have to go at it alone. Jesus left heaven and came to earth and died on a cross, so He could put His arms around our shoulders and forgive us of our sin. We need to do the same for one another. We must link arm to arm with one another as we walk through life together.

Dear God, when life gets hard and my circumstances get discouraging, I pray that would you show me your love and comfort through the other believers you've placed in my life. Help my brothers and sisters in Christ to come around me when things get tough so that I don't have to face it all alone. In Jesus' name, amen.