“And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
We need each other more than we realize. God has designed our life to be dependent on him, but also dependent on his people. God has created us to be in faith-based communities, not faith-based seclusion. A church requires more than only one believer. What a church is, is really a family. That’s why from today’s passage, one of the three “Let us…” exhortations is emphatic about doing this Christian life together and not alone.
At the brink of the pandemic, many churches had to go online, while meeting in-person was temporarily put on hold. Yet, by God’s providence many churches and Christians found ways to continue staying connected.
These Christians believed the teachings of Scripture like today’s—let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. So that meant these Christians endured awkward Zoom sessions to meet for midweek community groups. It meant that these Christians patiently put up with their church’s glitching livestreams. No matter if there was a pandemic or not, God’s people struggled their way “to provoke love and good works…encouraging each other.”
Perhaps this wasn’t how you responded during the pandemic. Perhaps, if you’re honest—you withdrew and disconnected from God’s people. Well, listen to the plea of the author of Hebrews say to all of God’s people — And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
We need each other more than we realize. There is a kind of encouragement and even healthy “provoking” (as the author mentioned) that can only be found together with God’s people. We need this continually.
And so, because of Jesus’ one and done sacrifice for sin, God is always calling us back into fellowship with his people and himself. So what is one way God might be either calling you back into fellowship, or calling you into a deeper fellowship with his people?