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 (NIV)

Jesus uses community and relationships to grow His church. When we learn to connect and unite with fellow sons and daughters of God in mutual acceptance and love, we can unlock and experience the amazing power of community.

Our Lord calls us to Himself and desires that we live in unity and harmony with one another. As members of Christ's body, we are to receive and serve one another as He would. We get to do extraordinary things together and make a difference in the world by obeying Christ.

We sometimes take community for granted, believing that it will always be there for us, even if we haven't contributed to its growth and well-being. The seven Asian churches perished because they did not heed Jesus' words to protect and defend themselves against troublemakers and false believers who sought to destroy their community life.

Community is about investing in relationships, developing a sense of belonging, and going through life together. We are given the grace to restore each other from sinful brokenness to wholeness and to release each other to new callings when we root our friendships in our friendship with Christ. The Apostle Paul would not have been able to succeed if he did not have a community of people with various gifts who sent and supported him.

We can make community work and see it thrive as long as we are humble and willing to rest on God’s grace. We will value community more and more as we grow in Christ because we are aligning our hearts with His heart and surrounding ourselves with people who love Him just as much as we do. Then we become the community through which the world will encounter His grace and truth.