"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT)
This past Saturday, I spoke at a ladies’ tea. The theme was Flourishing. Though we were all in our fascinators and finery, I shared Jesus’ parable from Luke 13:6-9, the one about figs, fertilizer and special attention. Essentially, we spent the morning discussion compost: how in His mercy and expectation of growth, God allows compost to cover our lives. This stinky business is manageable because He promises to comes close. He gives us special attention when the compost comes.
At the close of our time together, I acknowledged the likelihood of current compost in the lives of my listeners. There were certainly ladies in the room crawling through it and that’s where the community of believers comes in handy. We don’t need to deal with our compost alone, we have one another. I asked the ladies with compost to hold their noses as an outward sign of their situation and we all got to praying together. It was a sweet moment, despite the stinky nature of the stuff these ladies were growing through.
This morning’s verse reminds me of the blessing of belonging to a body of believers. We live in a period of time where many have forsaken Sunday fellowship for weekends in the RV or junior’s ball tournaments. It may feel nice to sleep in, but when we do, we miss out on the growth that comes through encouragement. Some of our strongest means amidst compost is each other: brothers and sisters tugging us along, pulling us toward Christ when the compost piles up. We need each other: grown happens most readily in community.
Think about nurseries and new trees. Gardeners put the same sort of tree in the ground beside one another on purpose. There’s a camaraderie there, and even a sharing of resources that happens between trees. (Google mycorrhizal networks, it’s fascinating stuff!) If this is true of trees, then how much more is it true of people? We need to live in groves! We were created to grow together in orchards of belonging: more familiarly known as the body of Christ.
"When we are together, I want to encourage you In your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours." (Romans 1:12 NLT)
Lord, forgive us for our fear of compost. Today we see fertilizer as a necessary means of growth. We are comforted by the promise of Your special attention amidst it and we see how You sent us a body of believers to be encouraging. Please forgive us for our tendency to pull back when we are hurting. Help us recommit to community and do our part to encourage other believers. We are grateful for the gift of Your body. Amen.