Why be Part of a Church: The Necessity of Interdependence

“No one [person] however talented, or however completely inspired by God, can grasp all God’s truth by himself. The variety of human experience is almost infinite, and every human condition has its own lesson… Therefore the healthy spiritual life is communal, and the knowledge of how to think rightly about God, how best to worship God, and how effectually to obey Him is the slowly accumulating possession of the church.” John Lawson, p. 128, An Intro to Christian Doctrine

The fact that the church is a diverse community is no accident. If each of us, as individuals, were substantially alike, then we would be equal and therefore have little need for others. This living independently would naturally inflate our sense of self- sufficiency, feeding our pride and self- centeredness. But because we are each made differently, with different strengths and weaknesses, different perspectives and ideas, then we are drawn not toward independence, but rather interdependence. We are taught humility through the realization that we cannot do it alone, and are not sole possessors of all the answers. We are forced to learn how to do life together, how to enter into partnerships, how to negotiate and compromise, etc… all the for purpose of building up the community as a whole, understanding God rightly, and sustaining our life together. And as we develop an understanding of what it means to be interdependent, of the importance of being in relationship with each other, we come to better understand what it means to be dependent upon God. After all, people who realize that they need each other are much more likely to realize a need for God.
Let us be people who strive for community, even when the community is imperfect or falls short of our wish dreams, for it is only in our interdependence that we develop humility and love.