Opening Doors Together

Karen

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

—Ephesians 4:16

When my three children were small, we often went to the grocery store together to gather our needed fruits, veggies, and other assorted staples for the week. They especially liked going to one small grocery store in our town where an elderly man from church worked in the bakery. They lovingly referred to him as the “cookie man.” They could hardly wait to get into the store and make their way back to the bakery so they could have a peanut butter or chocolate chip cookie to enjoy on our outing.

One spring afternoon the kids walked a bit ahead of me and reached the store’s automatic door opener before I could. First, my oldest daughter, who was about eight years old at the time and somewhat small for her age, tried to step on the mat that causes the door to open. However, nothing happened. She stepped off, and then her younger brother, who was about five years old, tried too, also to no avail. Just then my daughter had a brilliant idea. She grabbed both her baby brothers’ hands, and they all jumped on the mat together at the same time. Voilà! It worked! They needed their combined weight to make the door slide right open.

We as believers in Jesus need one another. Just as today’s verse states, “Each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). Christians are not meant to be lone rangers; we’re not designed to be islands unto ourselves. We are meant for community. When members of the body are in need of something—whether physically, spiritually, financially, or emotionally—God most often sends help in the form of another human to lighten their load, relieve their pain, or encourage their heavy heart. Or when someone needs to figure out the next steps to take in life, God uses others to help think through decisions, weigh options, and make the best choice.

When we offer our help with all these life issues and join hands together as siblings in Christ, we can open doors we might not be able to open on our own.

Be willing today to take the hand of another person to help them get to where he or she feels God is guiding them to go. Will you play the part God has chosen for you in the body of Christ? When you do, the results are even sweeter than an afternoon treat from the cookie man himself!

Father, please help me be attentive to those around me who might need me to take them by the hand to help them get somewhere. I want to play my part and represent You well. It is an honor to have a place in the body of Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Can you think of a situation where you might join along with someone to help them get where they are headed? What could you do to come alongside them today?