For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Romans 12:4-5, New International Version

Jesus grows His church through community.

Community has a way of growing and maturing us. We can unlock and experience the astonishing power of community when we learn to connect and unite with fellow sons and daughters of God in mutual acceptance and love. 

Sometimes we take community for granted as if it will always be there for us no matter what we do. The seven churches of Asia have ceased to exist because they failed to heed the words of Jesus to protect and defend themselves against troublemakers and false teachers who sought to destroy their community life. 

Christ calls us to Him and wants us to live in unity and harmony with each other. 

By being part of the body of Christ, we are to receive and serve one another as He would.  Through obeying Christ, we get to do extraordinary things together and make a difference in the world. 

As long as we are willing and by God’s grace, we can make community work and see it thrive. Community is about investing in relationships, building an awareness of belonging and doing life together. When we root our friendships in our friendship with Christ, we are given the grace to restore each other from sinful brokenness to wholeness and release each other to new callings. The Apostle Paul wouldn't have succeeded if he didn't have a community of people with different giftings who sent him and supported him.

As we mature in Christ, we will value community more and more — this is because we are aligning our hearts with His heart and aligning ourselves with people who love Him just as much as we do. Then, we become the community the world needs to experience His grace and truth. This is particularly important due to the current COVID climate that makes it difficult for our church to plan ahead or do what needs to be done.

The onus falls on all of us to stay connected and continue to support each other so that we come out stronger and more united and more resilient than ever before.