Created for Community

Posted by Karah

Pause

Ponder this quote from John Piper:

“God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes Him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that He really is. This is what it means to be created in the image of God.”

Skim over Genesis 1–2 one last time this week. Count how many times God said His creation was good.

“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” —Genesis 2:18

Now, look more closely at Genesis 2:18. God wasn’t saying that man was in some way bad, but rather that He had created humanity to exist in relationships with others. God created us to live in fellowship with Him, but also to build relationships with other humans. God created community—and He created us for community.

Ask yourself:

God created Eve as a complement to Adam, someone with whom he could have spiritual, intellectual, and emotional intimacy. She was someone he could be real with. Are there people with whom you can be absolutely transparent about your life? Who? Why did you select those people?

If God created us for community, what does that teach you about the importance of the church?

Why is it important to realize that God created us to live in community—in our faith and the work He has called us to?

The Point

God, the Author of our story, has hard-wired us for relationship. From the beginning, God created us to live in relationship with Him and with others.

Respond

Who do you know who is trying to “go it alone” in the faith or live in isolation from the church? How can you reach out to that person this week, helping them to experience and see the need for true Christian community? Jot down three ideas.

Who in your life needs someone to come alongside them and help them to truly live out their faith in a dark world? How can you be someone who invites transparency and honesty, while also pointing others to God?

Behind the Story

The word translated as complement in Genesis 2:18 literally means that which is in front of him, implying a counterpart or equal. She is to be a helper (from the Hebrew word ezer), which stresses aid and support—and is even used of God Himself in Scripture (Ex. 18:4; Deut. 33:7, Ps. 46:1). The man and the woman have different roles, but those roles are designed to support and complement each other perfectly.

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest Alumni and Friends, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission., Weekly Devotions