‘I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. ‘ 1 Corinthians 1:10(NLT)
‘This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.’ 1 John 1:5-7(NLT)
‘Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.’ Galatians 6:1-3(NLT)
Yesterday we discovered the power and impact that praying regularly has on your marriage. Today we will be looking at the impact of Godly community. I specifically said “Godly” community because a lot of us have friends from work, friends from college, etc., that may be there for us but are not necessarily “Godly.”
What I am talking about are close relationships that you meet with, as a couple, regularly. This can be a Sunday school group, a Life Group, Community Group, etc. Whatever word or label you or your church calls it is irrelevant. What matters is that you have other couples that you are open, honest, and transparent with.
These are people who you can honestly share with about the struggles in your life. Whether it is your marriage, finances, kids, money, etc., these are people who will not judge you but will pray for you and with you. They will also give you biblical advice, not their opinion(s). Let’s be honest, this is not always easy to find, but it is worth the effort to obtain it. Remember our reading on Day 1: God created us for love and relationship. Even Jesus did life with others.
Another big reason for needing biblical community is accountability. We all need others from time to time to call us out and hold our feet to the fire. People who can lovingly tell you when you are wrong, people you trust enough to listen to. That way, when we are struggling in our marriage, we have trusted friends who will be there and help guide us back to Jesus.
Take a step and either join a group or even start a group. Take a risk, trust God and be transparent. Your transparency will encourage others to open up as well!
Take a moment and ask God: “Do I have the friends that you would like me to have? Have I been intentional about seeking out true biblical community?”
from True North: LIVE Free In Marriage