Day 9 | Designed With Desire And Need For Community

"Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’" Genesis 2:18 ESV

This is the only time we see in the creation narrative that God said what he created was “not good.” I believe there are a few reasons that God did not think it was good for man to be alone. One of the most impactful reasons is that Adam was alone, without community to another human being. Yes, Adam had a relationship with the Creator, but he was missing a relationship with someone who was like him; created. From the moment God created mankind, we were always designed with the desire and need for community.

When my wife and I first got married we joined a young married small group at another church. After a year in that group we decided we need to start one at LifeChurch because we needed to build and develop friendships within our church. That group has turned into some of our closest friends. We have celebrated birthdays, holidays, and births of children. But we have also mourned the passing of loved ones and walked through very difficult seasons of marriage and parenting. I am extremely grateful for the community we have in our LifeGroup. But the truth is that to have good, Christ-centered community, then we have to be willing to deal with the mess. The mess of our own lives. The mess of other people’s lives. To have community, we must be willing to ride the highs and lows of life with other people and sometimes that means we get on their rollercoaster so they are not alone and allow others to find a seat on our rollercoaster.

Maybe you find yourself feeling lonely and not wanting community. If this is you, pray that God would bring people into your life. Pray and ask God for you to find a LifeGroup, a Connect Group, a men’s study, or a women’s study for you to be a part of. Maybe you are a person who has great community at the church. If this is you, pray that God would bring to mind someone who would love to be part of that community. Ask God that He would give you eyes to see those who are not connected to a community in the church and that you could be the person to help them get connected. After all, God said it was not good for man to be alone. I don’t think He has changed His view on loneliness.

Pastor Jericho Toilolo

We’ll see you at the Prayer + Fasting Night tomorrow at 6:00pm! Please ensure you’re RSVPed here.