This year’s theme for JIBC is “Better Together”. That almost goes without saying…almost. When I was a child, I loved to play baseball. Every day that I could, I would take 2 or 3 baseballs, my baseball bat and my glove and walk to the baseball fields next to Dorchester Terrace Elementary School. It was like a second home for a lot of us kids. You never knew who might be at the field: best friends, older kids, younger kids, parents, etc. Whoever was there, no matter the age, we played ball.
Every now and then, there would be no one at the field. Did not stop the fun, it just changed the rules. I would play home run derby…toss the ball up and swat! I would pitch to the back stop or throw the ball as high as I could and work on catching pop flies. I was determined to have fun. All that being said I would still rather play baseball with my friends. The whole baseball experience is better together.
Really, God has wired us up as humans and particularly as followers of Jesus to need each other. We are without a doubt better together. After great loss, I might have a need to be alone for a moment of time. I will also need friends, hugs, tears, laughter, encouragement, presence, etc. I can’t do these on my own; certainly I cannot do them as well on my own. The Bible speaks to us about loving one another, praying for one another, admonishing one another, forgiving one another, etc. Over 40 times we hear about these one another’s. We cannot do the one another’s without one another. We are better together.
Doing life with my small group has been a blessing to my life. Together, we can face bad news, rejoice together over good news, tackle giant problems, and share our collective wisdom (limited as that might be).
If you are in a Connection Group, stay connected! If you are not, but would like to be, please let Pastor Scott know. He will pray for God’s help and will give you his best effort to get you connected.
You can play baseball by yourself…but it is not as fun or challenging! We are better together.
Pastor Tom
