I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

Romans 1:11-12

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.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Jesus said he would build his church on the confession that he was the Christ; church here being the word “assembly” not a physical building. So why was Jesus gathering people? Why didn’t God design the Way to be a personal and individual path?

We need us.

The church is a church, the assembly is an assembly, because of the basic human need and trait of community. Your participation and role in that may be different than others, hence the analogy of a body comprised of different parts, but the need for one another remains. We are strong because we increase one another’s strength.

Ethan Kirl