Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3
Many of us know the experience of team building exercises. Trust falls, anyone? Perhaps it is part of your work life or another organization of which you are a part. It usually involves some task that one is not able to perform or complete by themselves. It might be getting through an obstacle course or escaping a room. The key is you are dependent on others to accomplish or achieve your goal.
In last week’s sermon, I spent most of the time teasing out how being poor in spirit requires a growing realization of how truly dependent we are upon God and learning to rest in that, not resist it. But there is another level of dependence we are called to and that is a dependence upon others. We are not created to make it through this life on our own. In the original creation account, God’s one malediction (opposite of benediction) is that it is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). We were made to live in community with others. Even though God saves us individually, it is always a salvation into connection and relationship. At the heart of God’s covenant promises is His statement that He will be our God and we will be His people. The Lord Jesus tells us that He is building His church, His community of called out ones.
This need for others should not surprise us. We see it in the life of the Lord Jesus. He came into the world as a baby, completely dependent on Joseph and Mary to meet all His needs. Think of all the food provided to Him by others at all the dinners He attended. The Scriptures specifically record that there was a group of women who gave Him support (Luke 8:1-3). In a very particular way, this is seen in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4. We quickly jump to what the woman needs and receives from Jesus. But at the outset, it is Jesus who has the need. He is weary and likely thirsty. He is at a well. But he has no means to draw water from the well. Along comes the woman who comes with the specific purpose of getting water, so she has what Jesus lacks: something to draw the water out. And so, he goes against all cultural norms and He, a Jewish man, asks a Samaritan woman for a drink. He has a need and it can only be met by someone else.
Saints, we need one another. It will be to your harm to try and make it on your own. If Jesus needed help from others, so do you. Is it risky? Yes, but so are most of the important endeavors and choices in life. Seek out connections. Seek out relationships. Join a small group. Invite someone to get a coffee. We need to be in community with one another. Otherwise, how will we be able to love one another, encourage each other, confess to each other, and bear each others’ burdens? Depending on others, like depending on God, is not a weakness or a flaw. It’s a design feature, built into us by our loving Creator, so that we might flourish.
