Two are better than one, because they have good return for their time: If one
falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the one who falls and has no
one to help him up! Also, if two lay down together, they will keep warm. But
how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend
themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the most Holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, for since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of His faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching. ~Hebrews 10:19-25
I’ve been using my fire pit pretty regularly lately. When we moved here there was a lot of dead branches and debris in our back yard that hadn’t been tended to for years. On top of that, we had to have about five dead trees taken down, that posed a safety hazard. We have a friend that has been collecting most of the wood to burn this next winter. But there’s still plenty of brush and twigs to feed a fire.
I’m constantly checking in with the DNR website to see if I can burn on days that I plan to be around the house, to see if I can continue cleaning up my back yard. And now, bits and pieces of knotty pine boards are also finding their way into the mix. All that to say, I’m burning a lot lately. Sometimes, all I have to do is stir things up a bit and the fire starts right up again without much effort.
I’m reminded of a Pastor who visited a man in his home one evening. This man had not attended church for a long time. The pastor sat and chatted and the two enjoyed the fire that the man had in his fireplace. The pastor quietly stood, at one point, and used the tongs to pick up a burning coal from the fire and moved it to the edge of the fireplace. During the conversation with the gentleman, the pastor casually asked why the man had not been attending worship services.
The man explained: “I’m just not getting much out of them anymore. I’d rather just sit here and be with God in my own way.” Conversation continued for a time. Then, the pastor went over and examined the coal that he had removed from the fire. It was dark and cool. Then, the pastor placed it back in the fire. The coal immediately came to life again and glowed along with the rest. The pastor quietly said to the man, “We are all like coals as Christians. We do best when we are in the midst of others.” The gentleman thought long and hard for a few minutes and then quietly responded, “I’ll see you in church this Sunday.”
We are not meant to do life alone. One of the reasons that mental health numbers have gone up so dramatically this past Spring is due to the forced isolation that so many have had to endure. Yes, there are times that it is good for us to be alone with God, but He created us to need each other and do best when we are in community. “Two are better than one, because they have good return for their time.”
When we can work with at least one other person, we can cut the time of a task more than in half. We can encourage each other, making the work lighter and easier to bear. Two can carry more than one. Two have more hands, more perspectives, more combined experiences and more ideas to share. “If one falls down, his friend can help him up.” One only needs to go through a medical crisis to know how much the touch of a spouse or friend is a blessing.
“But pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up!” I think of how many have been forced to die alone this past Spring. When the shutdown came, my mom had just been moved to Samaritas for rehab. She knew no one. She was in a strange place and her issues with dementia made it difficult for her to understand what was happening. First, I had to get her a simple phone that I thought she might be able to learn to basically use. The staff was great at helping with this.
Then, I learned on Facebook of others who were in similar situations but were going around to the windows of their elderly loved ones and using the phone but being as face to face as possible as well. I remember the first time I tried this and her big smile and eyes lighting up when she saw my face. There is just something about having another to connect with that is powerful and healing. Pity those who do not have that connection.
“Also, if two lay down together, they will keep warm.” But how can one keep warm alone? How can the fire keep going with just a single coal? How does one continue to encourage oneself when life seems hopeless and no one else is speaking into it? There is a woman that we know from Celebrate Recovery that has referred to people that have spent too much time alone, so that they believe only their own press and just can’t see any other way. She says of them, “They need to get out of their own head.”
There’s truth to that. When all we hear is our own way of seeing things, we begin to believe that our way is the only way, the right way. We lose the capacity to hear another point of view. Your fire will eat you up and burn out without your learning to live alongside others. We need each other to be a supportive team of one another, especially in our walk with the Lord.
When the writer of Hebrews says: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.” It is another way of referring back to what Solomon is saying here about the benefits of coming together. Paul had instructed in Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.”
None of us are perfect and we need the help of our brothers and sisters who can help us improve our walk with Jesus, for our benefit and His. It is just a fact that we have been created to need each other, for encouragement and correction to keep our fire, collectively, burning true.
Finally, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” While this is also a benefit of life together as Christians, this should be especially true in marriage. When a husband and wife can support and encourage one another, and the third strand is Christ Himself, in the middle, they become the picture of Christ and the church that Paul describes in Ephesians 5, a picture of a cord of three that is not easily broken.
This is why satan works so hard to divide and separate. He knows how we are made as well. He knows that we are designed to work together, as a marriage and as a church. The more he can divide, the more his false hope is kept alive to conquer. The more we give in to his tempting thoughts to stay away because we’ve been offended, or misunderstood, or unappreciated, the more we play into his hand to attempt to destroy the church. When, however, we can come together, work through or accept our differences and glow anyway, for His glory, we make a beautiful fire glowing for His glory that the gates of hell cannot overcome.
Our burning desire must be for unity over individual preferences and wanting what God wants over our individual desires. We are best for Him when we are working together and wanting to avoid divisiveness and instead fan the flames of unity. That is His Will. That is why He has given us each other. We must examine ourselves to ask, “Is it our will as well?”
Prayer: Father, thank you for the warm relationships in my life. I love You. I love the people you have given me for friends and fellow workers in the service of You, our Lord. Help me to be there for them when I am needed. Remind me to call on them when I am needy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Bind Us Together, Lord
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the most Holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, for since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of His faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching. ~Hebrews 10:19-25
I’ve been using my fire pit pretty regularly lately. When we moved here there was a lot of dead branches and debris in our back yard that hadn’t been tended to for years. On top of that, we had to have about five dead trees taken down, that posed a safety hazard. We have a friend that has been collecting most of the wood to burn this next winter. But there’s still plenty of brush and twigs to feed a fire.
I’m constantly checking in with the DNR website to see if I can burn on days that I plan to be around the house, to see if I can continue cleaning up my back yard. And now, bits and pieces of knotty pine boards are also finding their way into the mix. All that to say, I’m burning a lot lately. Sometimes, all I have to do is stir things up a bit and the fire starts right up again without much effort.
I’m reminded of a Pastor who visited a man in his home one evening. This man had not attended church for a long time. The pastor sat and chatted and the two enjoyed the fire that the man had in his fireplace. The pastor quietly stood, at one point, and used the tongs to pick up a burning coal from the fire and moved it to the edge of the fireplace. During the conversation with the gentleman, the pastor casually asked why the man had not been attending worship services.
The man explained: “I’m just not getting much out of them anymore. I’d rather just sit here and be with God in my own way.” Conversation continued for a time. Then, the pastor went over and examined the coal that he had removed from the fire. It was dark and cool. Then, the pastor placed it back in the fire. The coal immediately came to life again and glowed along with the rest. The pastor quietly said to the man, “We are all like coals as Christians. We do best when we are in the midst of others.” The gentleman thought long and hard for a few minutes and then quietly responded, “I’ll see you in church this Sunday.”
We are not meant to do life alone. One of the reasons that mental health numbers have gone up so dramatically this past Spring is due to the forced isolation that so many have had to endure. Yes, there are times that it is good for us to be alone with God, but He created us to need each other and do best when we are in community. “Two are better than one, because they have good return for their time.”
When we can work with at least one other person, we can cut the time of a task more than in half. We can encourage each other, making the work lighter and easier to bear. Two can carry more than one. Two have more hands, more perspectives, more combined experiences and more ideas to share. “If one falls down, his friend can help him up.” One only needs to go through a medical crisis to know how much the touch of a spouse or friend is a blessing.
“But pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up!” I think of how many have been forced to die alone this past Spring. When the shutdown came, my mom had just been moved to Samaritas for rehab. She knew no one. She was in a strange place and her issues with dementia made it difficult for her to understand what was happening. First, I had to get her a simple phone that I thought she might be able to learn to basically use. The staff was great at helping with this.
Then, I learned on Facebook of others who were in similar situations but were going around to the windows of their elderly loved ones and using the phone but being as face to face as possible as well. I remember the first time I tried this and her big smile and eyes lighting up when she saw my face. There is just something about having another to connect with that is powerful and healing. Pity those who do not have that connection.
“Also, if two lay down together, they will keep warm.” But how can one keep warm alone? How can the fire keep going with just a single coal? How does one continue to encourage oneself when life seems hopeless and no one else is speaking into it? There is a woman that we know from Celebrate Recovery that has referred to people that have spent too much time alone, so that they believe only their own press and just can’t see any other way. She says of them, “They need to get out of their own head.”
There’s truth to that. When all we hear is our own way of seeing things, we begin to believe that our way is the only way, the right way. We lose the capacity to hear another point of view. Your fire will eat you up and burn out without your learning to live alongside others. We need each other to be a supportive team of one another, especially in our walk with the Lord.
When the writer of Hebrews says: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.” It is another way of referring back to what Solomon is saying here about the benefits of coming together. Paul had instructed in Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.”
None of us are perfect and we need the help of our brothers and sisters who can help us improve our walk with Jesus, for our benefit and His. It is just a fact that we have been created to need each other, for encouragement and correction to keep our fire, collectively, burning true.
Finally, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” While this is also a benefit of life together as Christians, this should be especially true in marriage. When a husband and wife can support and encourage one another, and the third strand is Christ Himself, in the middle, they become the picture of Christ and the church that Paul describes in Ephesians 5, a picture of a cord of three that is not easily broken.
This is why satan works so hard to divide and separate. He knows how we are made as well. He knows that we are designed to work together, as a marriage and as a church. The more he can divide, the more his false hope is kept alive to conquer. The more we give in to his tempting thoughts to stay away because we’ve been offended, or misunderstood, or unappreciated, the more we play into his hand to attempt to destroy the church. When, however, we can come together, work through or accept our differences and glow anyway, for His glory, we make a beautiful fire glowing for His glory that the gates of hell cannot overcome.
Our burning desire must be for unity over individual preferences and wanting what God wants over our individual desires. We are best for Him when we are working together and wanting to avoid divisiveness and instead fan the flames of unity. That is His Will. That is why He has given us each other. We must examine ourselves to ask, “Is it our will as well?”
Prayer: Father, thank you for the warm relationships in my life. I love You. I love the people you have given me for friends and fellow workers in the service of You, our Lord. Help me to be there for them when I am needed. Remind me to call on them when I am needy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Bind Us Together, Lord
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