Cherishing the Assembly

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” 

(Hebrews 10:23-25 ESV)

I think it’s safe to say that, when this situation with Covid-19 blows over, and when life begins to feel more like normal, we will never look at the above verses in the same way again. Let’s face it, before this virus upended our lives, we took the gathering together with other believers for granted. We felt and acted as if it’s no big deal.

We told ourselves, repeatedly, that going to church is not what makes us a Christian. We did so, often, to alleviate our guilt for our failure to go. We took for granted that, when things were less busy, when we were less tired, when the kids were a little older, or whatever the case might be, we’d go to church more often.

In the meantime, however, we neglected to meet together with the church. We may have done so on special days, days like Christmas, Easter, or Mother’s Day. We may have done so when special events were happening in the life of a family member, things like a baptism, a confirmation, or a performance in the Christmas play. But going to church every Sunday, not to mention participation in things like Bible studies, was out of the question.

We’ve always had something more important going on. We’ve always had needs that were a greater priority. And, quite frankly, going to church just didn’t compare.

But now, in the midst of a season of isolation, we’re beginning to understand that need. We’re beginning to understand the need to gather together with our fellow believers. We’re beginning to see what we’ve been missing.

As we hold to our confession and hope, we need the encouragement of our fellow believers. We need them to speak into our lives with the hope of the gospel. We need to see examples of how we can live in faith in the face of hardship. We need those who will weep with us when we weep. And we need those who will rejoice with us in our rejoicing.

We also need to be stirred up to love and good works. We need to be stirred up because our natural tendency is anything but that. Our natural tendency is selfishness. Our natural tendency is laziness.

And not only do we need these things to be provided for us by our fellow believers. Our fellow believers need us to provide these things for them as well. As we interact together, as a body, we’re able to minister to one another with the grace that we, ourselves, have received from Christ.

In the meantime, however, continue to watch our services as they’re shared on YouTube and Facebook. Continue to take part in our Sunday School classes on Go-to-Meeting. Continue to call or to send a message to your fellow church members in their loneliness.  And, above all, anticipate the day that we can come together, once again, as the assembly of believers.