When we stand together

Oneof my neighbors with a heavily wooded lot relandscaped his front yard earlierthis year. He took down many trees in the process but left one magnificent whiteoak. Months later, one of our summer thunderstorms blew through and strippedthe tree of one of its main branches. The fallen limb left a huge jagged scar--painful to see. The significant damage to the oak forced the homeowner to remove it.

Later, my neighbor told me the initiallyhealthy white oak may have suffered because the others around it were removed.I learned the results of this removal can cause “forest edge effect.”  The tree, previously sheltered, was exposed tomore intense sunlight, stronger winds, and may have also weakened because itsroots had been interdependent with the other trees around it. All you forestersout there feel free to weigh in if I’ve missed something.

Itseems to me a strong metaphor for those who try to go it alone without the body of Christ. We can’t. That’s why the apostle Paul said, “And let us notneglect our meeting together . . .” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).

Pullingaway from the body exposes and weakens us because we are interdependent on eachother. The body of Christ is a living breathing thing, and we find life in it. Andsure, we can see God on the golf course or at the lake, but if we make a habit of choosing other places over connecting with the body of Christ, we must understand those other places do not substitute for the body of Christ, and we will suffer.Of course, there are those who for health reasons cannot take part, but Godunderstands that, and I believe will reveal himself in special ways to thosewho are house bound. I know he did this for me when I was unable to be part ofchurch gatherings because of my recent accident. And also, because I was part of the body, those people came to me to bring encouragement and practical help. Such a blessing.

Inthe body, we not only receive encouragement, but hope, protection, and accountability. We arereminded of who we are and whose we are. We find joy and love there.

So,if you’ve pulled back for one reason or another, don’t be that one lone tree and get "forest edge effect." Drawclose. Take a hand. Stay connected. Allow the Lord to minister to you through His people. Andlike my neighbor found, we trees are stronger because we stick together.

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023