A light
bulb flipped on with piercing brightness for a small group member this weekend.
He’s not
new to small groups. In fact, he’s participated in them for a few years. But something
from God’s Word struck him afresh. It came from the words of the writer of
Hebrews. In the 10th chapter, we find these words:
“And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but encouraging one another…”
Hebrews 10:24-25
The truth
that struck this small group participant was the realization that community life
is not all about receiving. It’s not all about what you will get from your interaction in community.
Rather, it’s about what God can—and will—do through you in the context of your
small group.
How can
God use you to spur another on? How will God use you to encourage someone else?
What will God do through you to deeply impact the faith journey of another?
It may
seem basic, even simplistic, but this reality is one of the most overlooked and
misunderstood aspects of community life in the church today!
You and I
may join a small group for personal reasons and desires, but the ultimate
purpose just might not have anything to do with our spiritual goals or
purposes.
Small
group life is genuinely more about others than it is about self. That’s why I
love Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s quote from his classic book Life Together, “The Christian needs another Christian who speaks
God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and
discouraged…The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word
of his brother.”
Here’s
the life-giving reality of life in a healthy small group—it’s not all about
you!
