Fueled by Community

Postseason is when athletes rest, take vacations and recover from a long season. Practice is paused, workouts are fewer, and the team is around each other less. Some athletes move on to the next sport, while others wait for preseason to roll around. When it is finally time for the season to start, the team’s reunion is exhilarating. They have been apart for so long that the first day back usually brings a huge energy of excitement and joy to the room.

There is a moment in the book of Acts that describes how the early church gathered and devoted themselves to being together. Devoting oneself means committing one’s entire life to something. So, when they dedicated their lives to listening to the apostles’ teachings, to fellowship, eating meals together, and to prayer, it meant they gave their entire lives to doing everything with each other. Like a team back together again, the energy was high in the room.

Why do we feel happier, energetic and uplifted with people we love and with whom we have a tight bond? Because God created community and demands community. Not only is community a good thing, it is a God thing. God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone. He commands us to be with people. When we are away from our team for long periods, from the church, from our community, we become sad, lonely and low. This is because we are not being fueled by community. And just like a car, when we have no fuel, we cannot go; we remain stuck.

We must intentionally devote our lives to community! We can find it on our sports teams, our school, our churches, life groups and even extracurricular events. Wherever we find community, it is important to remain and get fueled up by it!