Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode we're asking the question, are you missing this secret to spiritual growth? It's based on an article I read in the Washington Post that was looking at this massive study that was done recently. 40,000 people participated in this study and generated over 100,000 activity reports. And here's what they found. You are happier doing anything in company than you are doing it by yourself. That's right now, no matter what task you are thinking of. In fact, the study looked at what's at ah, activities that are primarily thought of as solo things like reading or commuting or even managing your finances. And what they found is when you do those things in the company of another person, you are significantly happier in person interaction boosts happiness on a scale almost nothing else does. In fact, the study didn't just look at 40,000 participants and 100,000 activities, but it actually looked at multiple years of data. And researchers have said this is one of the most striking and concrete studies they've ever seen. Meaning the results are indisputable. You are happier with other people than you are by yourself. Now, the reason I say, uh, the secret to spiritual growth is because the Bible says that's true. In, in your relationship with God, there might not be anything we think of as more individual than my relationship with God. Especially in our culture where faith is seen as an individual and private thing. But not according to the Bible. Remember that when God calls us to do something, it's because he knows what's best for us. And God didn't need this study for him to know that what's best for you is, is to pursue a relationship with him in community. Let me sketch that out for you. Let's start here. You were made for relationship. You know, in Genesis 1, when the Bible says that God made us in his image, male and female, that means a lot of things. But one of the things it means is we were made relational. Remember that God is one and yet three, Father, Son and spirit. The that God has been in relationship within himself for all of eternity. Which means anyone made in his image functions best, flourishes best in community. That's why in Genesis 2, God looks at Adam in the Garden of Eden and says, it isn't good for Adam to be alone because Adam was made to be in relationship. And if it isn't good for Adam, it's Probably not good for you. But here's the second thing. It's not just that we were made for relationship. It's also that relationship is how we grow. Proverbs 27:17 says that as iron sharpens iron, so we benefit one another. The truth is, I don't always know what thoughts in my head or in my heart are good or bad, what impulses are for me or against me. Relationship is about inviting someone else into. Into that space to help me sort through it. Relationship is about having someone present to tell me the truth when I don't feel like it's true, or when I don't want to hear it, or when I'm in desperate need of hearing it. That's why the Bible, by the way, and this is my third point, refers to the church as a larger body made up of individual parts. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says that each one of you is. Is apart. What it's saying to me is, Zach, don't think about yourself as having everything internally that you need for a healthy relationship with God. I'm like an elbow, and an elbow is great. Elbows do something, I'm sure. I mean, uh, I don't know what they do, but they must do something. But without the bones of the arm, without the shoulder blade, without the torso, an elbow would be rendered pointless. Even if it had a purpose, it would be a fraction of the purpose it was designed to be have. When the Bible speaks about individual Christians, it speaks of them as smaller parts of a greater whole. In other words, you can't even understand yourself in relationship to God without placing yourself in the context of the people of God. One of the ways you know this, by the way, fourth point is that Jesus himself lived in community. He did life with a group of 12 guys. Let me put it to you this way. If there was ever a guy who would have been just fine on his own without anyone else, all he needed was God, it would have been Jesus. But that isn't the way he lived. He lived with people showing us that that's how we were wired. And oh, by the way, the immediate consequence. This is my fifth point. Of Jesus living and dying and rising from the dead, ascending into heaven and sending the Holy Spirit, is that the Gospel is preached, a church is formed, and they live in community. In Acts 2:46, we're told they were together with glad hearts. Listen, the Bible is written to communities of people. That is the intended audience. It's the intended way of Christians to live. Whatever you're doing to grow in your relationship with God, you will be happier than healthier and holier if you invite someone else into it. Growing in your faith is a team sport, so stop playing it by yourself. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to, uh, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!