Better Together (Friday Devotional)

 

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

We’ve been hearing it for years now: Black Friday’s just not the same as it used to be.

At its peak, the day after Thanksgiving was an occasion for crowds to line up in front of stores at 2:00 in the morning, camping out in tents while they waited. Whether in search of a big screen TV or the year’s hottest toy, shoppers would map out the store in advance like generals planning an invasion. And when the doors finally opened, the store would transform into a frenzy of activity, with people sprinting full speed through the aisles and sometimes even coming to blows with other customers. Black Friday was wild.

And now…well, now you leisurely pull out your laptop and place your order whenever it’s convenient. Despite their best initial efforts to incentivize in-person shopping, most of the stores have resigned themselves to the reality that people would rather shop from the comfort of the couch than wake up at an ungodly hour, drive across town, brave the elements, and risk life and limb for the sake of a bargain. There are still Black Friday deals to be had, but now they can be had from home.

For most of us (myself included), this is a welcome change. But for the Black Friday die-hards, the ones who made bargain hunting an annual tradition with friends and family, there is a sense of loss that comes with this shift. Shopping online is easier, no doubt, but it’s also solitary. Instead of spending hours in line with other people sharing a common experience, you’re simply taking care of a task by yourself. Community is traded for convenience.

There are some things that just aren’t the same when done alone as when done together—and, as we all learned last year, one of those things is church. Watching a worship service online from your living room is certainly better than no participation at all, but it’s simply not the same as the fellowship you experience when you gather with other believers. Serving alone is worthwhile, but not as enjoyable as doing so with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Private devotion is meaningful and important, but it’s not a replacement for corporate discipleship.

What the Lord wanted us to know when he established the church was that we are better together than apart, that everything from worship to service to discipleship is something we are called to do in community rather than as solo operators. While faith is personal, it is not private; the gospel is something we learn, share, and live out as a family of faith.

So when it seems easier to go it alone, to adopt an individualistic mode of Christianity where the church is optional, remember why Jesus gave it to us in the first place: some things just aren’t the same when done alone. We’re better together.