The Fellowship Factor

When I was growing up, no one was cooler than the Lone Ranger, no monicker was more hip than Lone Wolf and no belief could have been more wrong than it is better to be alone. The universal truth from the beginning of time was, is and ever will be, "It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen 2:18).

Being self-sufficient sounds admirable, grown up and even classically American. But it is non-sense. We are not designed to operate alone, we are made for community.  God himself is our model for community from the beginning: "Let us make man in our image" (Gen 1:26).

Solomon laid out a simple, yet profound argument for community in Ecclesiates 4:9-10, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

Encouragement, assistance, support, direction, balance, collaboration, second sight, resources - all these and so much more are gained in friendship. In marriage, this community is taken to another level where you can share and stand together in everything. Eve, the "helpmeet" of Adam in Genesis, was not his valet, she was his completor - the one who filled in his gaps and vice-versa. 

Having good friends makes life more doable and more enjoyable. Finding a good wife/husband makes life more complete. But the greatest power for life, the greatest joy in life and the zenith of a complete life - now and forever - is only found in the fellowship of The Lord. We are made for community and fellowship with God and cannot be whole until we are found whole in Him. 

Jus' Sayn.