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One of God’s sweetest gifts to us between the “already” of our conversion and the “not yet” of our homegoing is the gift of the body of Christ. God has not left us to ourselves but has blessed us with an abundant community of help. Our God of grace intends to make his invisible grace visible by sending people of grace to give grace to people who need grace. His people are meant to be the visible demonstration of his faithfulness.
The question is: will we accept this lavish gift with humility, honesty, and dependency?
Our walk with God is designed to be a community project. But many of us live virtually unknown lives, and many people we think we know do not truly know us. Many of us live in endless networks of terminally casual relationships, in which conversations seldom go deeper than weather, food, politics, the coolest new movie, or the latest cute thing our child did. Most of what we call fellowship never really rises to the level of the humble self-disclosure and mutual ministry that make fellowship redemptively worthwhile.
The isolated, confidential, “Jesus-and-me” version of Christianity that often marks modern church culture is not the Christianity described in the New Testament. We find an excellent example of communal Christianity in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. The Apostle Paul writes:
“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
I am impressed by Paul’s shocking honesty each time I read these verses. He was a powerfully influential man of faith, one we would not expect to be going through the struggle of heart that these verses portray. These words blow the facade off any image we might have of Paul as an independently spiritual man who lived way above the spiritual battles familiar to us all. This icon of gospel clarity, this messenger of gospel hope, this missionary to the hopeless desperately needs for himself all that he holds out to others. So, in the context of one troublesome event, he humbly unzips his heart and reveals the unsettling conflict that lives there.
Do People Really Know You?
Paul does not tell us the exact situation of his affliction in Asia; this is not a detailed report of his outward difficulty. Paul focuses on the inner impact this situation has on his heart and those with him. He is candidly confessing a deep spiritual struggle, sharing where his thoughts went and what his soul battled. This is more of a humble appeal for spiritual help than a recap of what he is physically experiencing.
We, on the other hand, might be more relaxed about telling people what we are going through, while we tend to be closely guarded about how we are going through it. Celebrating the gift of the body of Christ is not just about reporting the details of our life but honestly confessing the struggle of our heart in the midst of it.
Consider how frankly Paul admits the status of his defeated heart: “For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.” This is the Apostle Paul! No figure is more prominent in the New Testament except Jesus, yet here he is, thinking, “This is it. I simply do not have what it takes to make it through this mess.”
He does not hide behind spiritual platitudes. He does not act as if he is something he is not. He does not fear communicating his frailty publicly. These are the things many Christians are afraid of doing, and because we are, we do not receive the kind of comforting care that God has made available for us through his people.
What will we do when life in a fallen world confronts us with the fact that independent, self-sufficient strength is a lie? Will we hoard our discouragement? Will we hide our weaknesses? Will we act as though we are okay when we are not? Will shame keep us from confessing what we know is true? Will we allow discouragement of heart to morph into despondency and maybe even paralyzing depression?
Or will we reach out for the help that God has lovingly provided through the body of Christ?
Weakness Is a Doorway
It is important to highlight that Paul’s despair is not a prison but a doorway. Confessing that we do not independently have what is needed to walk through the travail on our plate is a gateway to receiving the care that only God can give us through the heart and hands of his people.
Hopelessness is the doorway to hope. The confession of hopelessness frees us from attempting to do what we do not have the power to do on our own. The admission of hopelessness frees us from acting as though we are something we are not. The confession of hopelessness robs shame of its paralyzing power. The confession of hopelessness frees us from isolation. The admission of hopelessness positions our heart to receive the gracious comfort that the God of all comfort has promised each one of his children.
Weakness is also a doorway to experiencing God’s purpose for us in and through suffering. Paul reflects on the purpose of God in exposing the depth of our weakness: “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (v. 9). He is reminding the church in Corinth that travail, in the hands of the Savior, becomes an instrument of grace.
Every child of God has a warehouse of comfort, rescue, strength, wisdom, direction, and protection. But, because of the pride and self-sufficiency that sin produces in us, we do not open the door of that warehouse; we live self-reliant lives, trusting that we can make it through on our own. So, as an act of redeeming love, God leads us into situations that cause us to be confronted with our weakness so that we will open the door to the lavish resources of help in his warehouse of grace.
The Bible reminds us that we should not be ashamed of our frailty. God is not disgusted by our lack of independent strength. He is sympathetic in understanding, faithful in care, and provides the help we need.
One of the primary instruments of help he uses is the church. “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (v. 9). There is comfort to be found in the people of God. It will not be perfect—nothing is this side of eternity—but the messy resources of help from the people of God are a glorious comfort and provision to all God’s children.
To begin to experience the full warehouse of blessing and provision that is available within the body of Christ, there are four things you must do.
1. Avoid Isolation
There is nothing heroic about trying to be a lone ranger and fight sin, the devil, and suffering alone. In fact, it is a recipe for disaster! God has designed human beings for community. Healthy, godly living is deeply relational. Worshipfully submissive community with God and humble dependency on God’s people are vital to living well.
The brothers and sisters around us have been placed in our lives as instruments of grace. As I said previously, they will not be perfect instruments, and they will not always say and do the right things, but in the messiness of these relationships, God delivers to us what only he can give. We need the presence and voices of others who can say and do things we could never do for ourselves. Our relationships with these people are God’s gifts of comfort, rescue, protection, and wisdom.
2. Confess Blindness
Hebrews 3:12–13 addresses the essentiality of community to the work that God has done and is continuing to do in us: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
Why do I need the daily intervention of the body of Christ? The answer is as simple as it is humbling. I need this daily ministry because I am a blind man. As much as I think I see and know myself well, this is untrue. Because sin blinds me to me, as long as there is still sin inside me, there will be pockets of blindness in my view of me. Things are actually more serious than what I have just described because, whereas every physically blind person knows that he is blind, spiritually blind people are blind to their blindness; they think that they see when, in fact, they do not.
3. Let People Interrupt
There is someone I talk to all the time about everything in my life. The opinions, interpretations, responses, beliefs, biases, perspectives, and viewpoints of this person are incredibly influential. I cannot escape these conversations, and I cannot avoid their influence. Most of the time, I am unaware that I am talking to this person, and most of the time, I fail to realize how these conversations influence how I think about myself, God, others, and life. That person is myself.
I have incredible influence over myself because no one talks to me more than I do. The problem is that sometimes it is very hard to tell ourselves what we need to hear. So, we need voices in our lives besides our own. We need to invite wise and loving people to eavesdrop and interrupt our private conversations, providing the words and insight we would not be able to say to ourselves. And we must not take offense when they disagree with our assessments; we need these alternative voices. They are in our lives not to hurt our feelings but to give us what we cannot provide ourselves. That is sweet grace from the hand of God.
4. Seek Wise Counsel
It is dangerous to make important life decisions alone. Because of sin, it is hard to see clearly, to think accurately, and to desire that which is best. Life in a fallen world tends to rattle the heart and confuse the mind. If we are in the midst of wavering emotions and finding it difficult to have clarity of thought, it is dangerous to make the many decisions we will have to make in isolation.
We humbly need to invite wise and godly counselors into our lives. I am not talking here about professional help, although that is good when necessary. I am talking about identifying the wise and godly people already in our lives who know us and our situations well and can provide the clarity of advice, guidance, and direction that is very hard to provide for ourselves. This must not threaten us; we all need it, and wise sufferers welcome it and enjoy the harvest of good fruit that results.
Have we embraced our daily need for the help and encouragement of the body of Christ? Who knows us? Not just what we are going through but how we are going through it. The God of all comfort sends his ambassadors of comfort into our lives. They are provided to make visible God’s invisible presence, protection, strength, wisdom, love, and grace. So, we ought to welcome his ambassadors. We should be open to their insight and counsel. We can confess our needs so that God’s helpers can minister to those needs. Let us live like we really do believe that our walk through life is a community project, and let us be ready for the good things God will do.
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