Why We Need Each Other: A Christian Perspective
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21).
We need each other.
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. Once we have been made new through the power of the Holy Spirit, our relationship with God is changed. He is our Redeemer, our Saviour, and our Father.
How we relate to one another also takes on a new form. Yes, people can come together in community prior to salvation. They connect based on shared interests, opinions, or values.
However, when we become Christians, we are joined with one another on a spiritual level. The power of the Holy Spirit changes how we interact with one another. Our vertical relationship transforms our horizontal relationships. We come together not only as those who hold similar values. We come together because we are His children. It is part of living out the purpose for which we were created.
Just before Jesus would endure the painful crucifixion, He said a prayer for those who would believe through the teaching of the disciples (John 17:20). That means that in this portion of Scripture, we see Jesus praying specifically for us. And out of everything He could have focused on in that prayer, Jesus prayed that we would be in unity with one another.
Not weighed down by non-essential disagreements or disputes. But encouraged with a common vision and purpose: to live in relationship with God and to love others well by letting them know the truth about the love that found us.
Often we refer to Bible verses about being separate from the world. We are urged to stand in our values, even when it means standing alone.
While this is all true, it is worth sharing that the Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation. There may be seasons, of course, when it is necessary to take a firm stand in our values, even if it means walking alone as we go against the current of the world.
But, in life as a whole, we were designed to live together.
Even God exists as the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit). Surely community is part of His design.
In the early church (which was under intense persecution), they found comfort in one another. The letters of encouragement from Paul, Peter, John, and others demonstrate the transformative work of Christ that binds people together in brotherly and sisterly love and the importance of holding this as a high priority.
What does this look like, practically speaking?
The Bible says we are to…
“encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess. 5:11).
“addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Eph. 5:19)
“submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Eph. 5:21).
How important is it to hear an encouraging word from a brother or sister in Christ? Or to worship the Father together in song? How powerful is it to love one another, putting the needs of others above our own desires?
We all come from various backgrounds, gifts, and abilities. And yet, we are joined by one thing: our relationship to Christ and, consequently, our identity as sons and daughters of God.
As pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said during the persecution brought on by Nazis in Germany,
“We are bound together by faith, not by experience.” [1]
May this truth impact every part of our lives, including what we say, our actions, and even what we think.
And let it all be for the glory of God, who first loved us.
Blessings,
[1] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Harper One, 1954. 39.