This past Wednesday, we welcomed the 8th graders to youth group for the first time. We had a fun night as we participated in the “Ignite Olympics,” where five teams competed against one another in several different events. I intentionally planned this event for the night that the 8th graders joined as a way to integrate them into the community and allow them to get to know some new people, as we had all of the grades represented on each team. Each of the events required the teams to work together.
The most obvious example of this was an event where the whole team had to stand on a tablecloth that was spread out on the ground. Their goal was then to make the tablecloth as small as possible by folding or crumpling it, without any member of their team stepping off. The members of each team literally had to lean on each other in order to do their best in the challenge. They had to get close to each other and hold on for dear life so that they wouldn’t accidentally step off the tablecloth. The teams that trusted and relied on each other the most were the most successful.
It reminded me of Pastor Greg’s sermon from a couple of weeks ago, where he was talking about the fear surrounding Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. Greg talked about how we are sometimes scared to get too close to Jesus because we are worried about what that might mean for our lives. I think this can also be true of each other and the communities that we are a part of. We think to ourselves, “I don’t want to get too involved in this group because then they will see who I really am,” or, “If I get too close to these people, then I have to deal with all of their brokenness.” And I’m not going to say that these things aren’t true, because they are! But I am here to say that it is so worth it to draw near to your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Being a Christian (or a human, for that matter) is far too difficult to do alone. Faith is not a gift that God gives us so that we have to walk with Him alone. When we lean into community with other Christians, we have the opportunity to learn how to forgive and be forgiven. We find accountability when we need it, and we are able to receive encouragement when life inevitably gets hard. Our mindset can change from “How can I be served by these people?” to “How can I serve these people?” Maybe it looks like joining a Life Group here at Living Word, or maybe it just looks like inviting a coworker and their family over for dinner once a month. God wants to meet you through His people. Lean into the body of believers!