You can believe in God on your own. You can pray alone, read the Bible alone, and even worship alone. But that’s not the whole picture God gives us. He compares His people to a body, many parts, one whole. Different functions, one purpose.
And here’s the key to it all: you need the body, and the body needs you.
Paul wrote, “Just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Every member matters. Every role counts. No one is useless, and no one is self-sufficient.
Paul continues: “If the foot should say, ‘Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,’ it is not for that reason any less a part of the body” (v. 15). You might feel like your gifts aren’t important. You might think others can do without you. But God says otherwise. “God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted” (v. 18).
So why do we try to go it alone?
Sometimes it’s because we’ve been hurt. Sometimes it’s pride. Sometimes it’s just spiritual fatigue. But isolation is dangerous. “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Lone believers are vulnerable. We all need someone to pick us up when we fall.
Life in the local congregation is where real growth happens.
It’s where we’re encouraged: “Let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together... but encouraging each other” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
It’s where we confess and are healed: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).
It’s where we serve and are served: “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Yes, it’s messy. People will disappoint you. But that’s not a flaw in the design. That’s part of the refining. Spiritual maturity doesn’t grow in isolation; it grows when we rub shoulders with others and choose love over selfishness.
If you’ve been drifting, come back.
If you’ve been hurt, begin again.
If you feel alone, reach out.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27).
You belong. You are needed. And you were never meant to walk this road alone.
The names of 3 old TV 📺 shows from my childhood years come to mind.
1. ‘Bah Bah Blacksheep’ - What is the ol saying, I’m the blacksheep of the ……. ??!!
2. ‘Lone wolf’ - Not as much success always venturing it alone.
3. ‘Family Ties’
Amen. I wrapped up teaching Romans 16 yesterday and talked about the church as a family. God designed us to function together and to build one another up. Thanks brother!