Devotions based on Trevor Hudson’s book Discovering our Spiritual Identity

 Growing deeper in our Christian lives requires community. When we say Yes to Christ we are also saying yes to His family, for we cannot be His followers alone. Within this community we gradually become the people God wants us to be. We are interdependent in our growth into wholeness as we accept one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens etc. ( Rom. 15:7) We can also learn from the lives of those who have gone before us who leave us their example and treasures. One of  God’s gifts to us is to be grounded in our local congregations  to experience Koinonia…the Greek word for fellowship. This refers to life- sharing with God and one another at the deepest levels. Such times give us mutual encouragement, care, and celebration. These groups should create a safe, spacious, and sacred space for us to share ourselves in honest disclosure. We all need support and the gift of real friendship from those who accept us as we are, listen to us attentively, and are committed to mutual interaction. Of all the gifts He provides for us, what is better than the presence of faithful friends?  Without them we block the road to wholeness, and fail to become all that He intends for us. “Faithful friendship is God’s disguised way of befriending us with His encouraging, life-enriching presence”.