Being a father of three young children, I hear certain phrases almost daily:
“Bubba hit me!”
“Will you wipe my bobo?”
“That’s mine!”
“I don’t want to take a nap!”
And then there’s, “I can do it all by myself.” Almost 100 percent of the time that phrase comes out of their mouths, I’m thinking, “There’s no way in the world you’re going to be able to do that all by yourself!”
We typically grow out of saying that phrase as we mature, but I’m not so sure that we grow out of believing it. We don’t like the idea that we need other people. We strive to be self-sufficient and strong. Saying that you need others is admitting that you are weak.
Many consider self-sufficiency to be an honorable trait, but it’s not even an option for Jesus followers. God’s Word communicates that when you place your faith in Jesus, you immediately become a part of a community of people — called his body — to do life with. You may have thought that you were just joining up with Jesus, but you weren’t. You were also joining up with everyone else that shares your same faith in him.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
— 1 Corinthians 12:27
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
— Colossians 3:15
Why can’t our faith be, “just me and Jesus?” Why do we have to be connected to this body of people? Because you can’t do it all by yourself. God didn’t design it that way. You need people to encourage you, teach you, pray for you, confront you, serve you, lead you and love you. Likewise, those in the body need you to encourage them, teach them, pray for them, confront them, serve them, lead them and love them. The life of faith was not designed to be done alone. That’s why you became an automatic member of The Body when you placed your faith in Jesus.
Stop trying to do life alone! Stop trying to do faith alone! Stop trying to be self-sufficient! Discover the satisfaction, fulfillment and energy that comes from living for Jesus with a whole army of people at your side!