Thursday, July 11, 2019

BOB This is Bob Peden of Central United Methodist Church. I have come to realize that Jesus never intended his followers to try to live their life of faith in isolation. He sent his disciples out two-by-two on their mission journeys. He often used inclusive family terms to speak about their life of faith ("our Father," "your brother"). This emphasis on community and family is carried over in the rest of the New Testament as we hear about house churches and our need to be there for each other. The "one another passages" of the New Testament arise out of this background — a recognition that we need each other to walk the Christian talk. We can't do it by ourselves and we were never intended to try to do it by ourselves. It takes a community to live and walk faithfully in the service of Jesus Christ.