J02 Don't try this alone!

I Thessalonians 5:14: "...we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."

Augustine: [City of God, 15.6]:

"Of course, even good men may be sick, suffering from that disobedience which is ...a wound or weakness in a nature that is good in itself. [Admonishing, encouraging, helping] is the way that the citizens of the City of God are given medicine during their pilgrimage on earth...and of course, the Holy Spirit is operative internally to give healing power to the medicine that is applied externally, for, otherwise, no preaching of the truth is of any avail. Even though God makes use of one of his obedient creatures, as when He speaks in a human guise to our ears --whether to the ears of the body or to the kind of ears we have in sleep -- it is only by His interior grace that He moves and rules our mind."

Reflection: Here we are reminded of why fellowship with other believers is so essential to our own growth. How can we be shaped into the instrument of God's grace that He intended us to be, if we are not part of a congregation that knows us? How can we be healed of the flaws and shortcomings of our own character, if there is no one willing to come along side of us in loving admonition and encouragement? How can we be used by God to help others along? And if we eschew fellowship, who will be alongside of us in sufficient intimacy to see and understand our need for a healing word?

God has a plan for each. As the bride of Christ, the church is Jesus' partner in illustrating the Way for each. And the Spirit is that which not only gives the worker the exact word needed for that struggling brother, but also enables the needy one to understand and act on it.

Of course, Augustine is not addressing physical ailments here, but our flaws as Christians.

My prayer today: O Father God, thank you for calling me to be your servant. Thank you for the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, who not only saved me but also created the church to nurture me. Thank you for the prompting of the Holy Spirit to bring the right word or touch to my brother or sister who needs it, and to trust that same Spirit to do the mending work. And for me to receive like encouragement from fellowship. Thank you for the 'great cloud' of witnesses that engulfs me. I am not alone!

(1) Augustine, "City of God" 15.6, Ancient Christian Commentary NT IX, Peter Gordray, Ed.

11/16/18, 8/19/24