RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

When my wife and I were living in Switzerland in the mid 1970s, we discovered she was expecting our second child. Our daughter, Renée, was born in the middle of the Swiss Alps in a quaint village called Chateau d’Oex. It’s one of the most beautiful places on this planet. After she was born, we would never have entertained the thought of saying to her, “Renée, we’ve brought you into this world. Now we’re going to leave you on these mountains, and you’re just going to have to grow up on your own. We’ve done our part. Now you need to do your part and grow up.”
That would have been unthinkable. Renée needed a family. She needed a mother and father to care for her, and the security that only a family could provide. We fed her and clothed her. We provided emotional support and security. Consequently, she’s grown up to be a wonderfully balanced and emotionally stable young woman.
When we are born into the kingdom of God, we need the same kind of spiritual love, security, and encouragement that a newborn requires. But too often, new Christians attempt to mature spiritually outside the context of God’s people. But God didn’t create us as Lone Rangers. He created us to function as a team — as parts of one Body. We must learn how to walk spiritually. We need to be fed the Word of God. I believe that fellowship with other Christians is one of the most important practices to which we must give ourselves.
When God created us, He instilled into our lives a need for fellowship with others. When He saved us, He also infused into the deepest part of our souls a need for fellowship with others who’ve experienced God’s grace. Therefore, each of us needs to find a church that preaches and teaches the Bible as God’s Word. We need to find a group of people who’ve come to know Christ and can help us to get to know Him better.
I’ve been a Christian since 1965, and I know that all churches have problems. There’s no perfect church because churches are made of imperfect people. But the church is intended as an assembly of those who have come to the cross. It’s not a showcase for saints, but a hospital for sinners. It’s where we go to get our lives mended. It’s a nursery that provides an atmosphere for spiritual growth. We first feast on the milk of God’s Word. As we grow. we are more able to digest the meat of the Scriptures.
As we face the battles of life, we learn to clothe ourselves with the whole armor of God. We are able to hear the Word of God and interact with others who have heard and experienced the same great truths. The bottom line is that a good, strong Bible-believing church will provide the atmosphere to become all that God intends us to become. We grow. We give. We become all that God desires for us.
Fellowship with other believers is as necessary to spiritual health and life as water to a fish. Without it, we would soon die. I’ve watched many Christians wither and die spiritually because they decided they didn’t need the fellowship of other Christians. Perhaps they had been hurt by another believer. Or maybe they disagreed with someone in their church. They may have even seen much hypocrisy in the lives of Christians. But forsaking fellowship with other believers is no solution to those circumstances. If we aren’t comfortable with the group of believers with whom we’re meeting, then we need to find another group of Bible-believing Christians — and grow with them. Fellowship with other Christians isn’t just an option for Christian growth. It’s a necessity.