Better Together

In our "Focus" series, we've been unpacking Island Church's core values — the key priorities that shape who we are and how we live out our faith. Last week, we explored what it means to Abide in Christ, cultivating an intimate relationship with God. But as Pastor Paul emphasized in his message this Sunday, abiding isn't a solo endeavor. In fact, the Christian life was never meant to be lived in isolation.

Enter core value #2: Connect. As followers of Jesus, we are designed and called to Connect in meaningful fellowship with other believers. The New Testament knows nothing of a vibrant Christianity apart from community. From the very beginning, God declared, "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18). We are made in the image of a relational God — a God who has existed for all eternity in the perfect fellowship of the Trinity.

But let's be honest: pursuing authentic, committed relationships in the church can be messy. We've all experienced hurt, conflict, and disappointment in our interactions with other Christians. It's tempting to pull back, to settle for a "just Jesus and me" mentality. Pastor Paul shared candidly about the pain of "feeling stabbed in the back" in ministry. But he also testified to the rich blessings of pressing through the challenges of community, of experiencing the ups and downs of life together as a spiritual family.

That's because, as the sermon highlighted, "The very best that God has for you will never be experienced apart from relationship with others." There are depths of intimacy with God that we simply cannot know in isolation. It is through the friction and encouragement of fellowship that our rough edges are smoothed, and our faith is sharpened. As Proverbs 27:17 portrays it, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

This connects to a crucial point from Sunday's message: "It is impossible to be right with God and not be right with his family." Our horizontal relationships with fellow believers are inseparably tied to our vertical relationship with God. As 1 John 4:20 puts it pointedly, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar." Ouch. Could unforgiveness or relational fractures be hindering your intimacy with Christ?

But here's the good news: When we do the hard work of pursuing reconciliation, of learning to love selflessly and serve wholeheartedly in the family of God, something beautiful happens. Our connectedness becomes a powerful witness. Jesus told his disciples, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). In a fractured world starved for belonging, the church's authentic fellowship can be a compelling foretaste of God's coming kingdom.

So how can we cultivate this kind of transformative connecting? It starts with recognizing our deep need for one another. As Pastor Paul vulnerably shared, "I need you." That's a humbling admission for a leader to make. But it's true for all of us. We need the prayers, the encouragement, the gifts, and the loving exhortation of our spiritual siblings to become all that God intends us to be.

It also involves taking practical steps to prioritize community. That might mean joining an Island Group, serving on a ministry team, pursuing coffee with someone you don't know well, or reaching out to a brother or sister you've offended to seek forgiveness. It means being present — consistently showing up to gather around God's Word, to break bread, to pray for and with one another.

As we do, something supernatural happens. We find that our relationship with God grows and deepens in ways we couldn't have imagined. We experience the blessing of being known, loved, and spurred on in our faith. And we discover the joy of being part of a family on mission, inviting others to taste and see the goodness of our relational God.

The Christian life isn't meant to be a solo trek, but a shared journey. As the old proverb reminds us, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." May we embrace the privilege and the challenge of connecting in God's family, knowing that we are truly better together in Christ.