...not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching  (Hebrews 10:25 CSB).

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I was sick a few weeks ago and the days of being in bed and out-of-sorts added to the other days that I already hadn’t checked on my garden. It happened to be at a time in the summer when the days had been particularly warm and long, and significant growth happened in a short period of time. Unfortunately, my neglect of the garden meant that weeds were rampant, carrots weren’t thinned, and my beans were a tangled mess. Neglecting things rarely turns out well, and in the case of my garden it took much longer to try to restore things to the way they should be growing than it would have if I’d tended it along the way. Some of the damage was hard to undo!

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In the book of Hebrews, we’ve been warned about drifting. We’ve learned that Jesus is the better way. We’ve seen how the sacrificial system and many of the cultural ways the Hebrews were used to living under had been made new in Jesus. The old ways were simply shadows of what Jesus would bring. Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice – once for all. He is also now our perfect High Priest – we have access to God through Him. So many warnings, so many things made new, but are we going to take action?  We have decisions to make – course corrections – as well as complete changes in direction.  

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The writer of Hebrews knows that this is not easy to do alone. Rarely do people go out on boats alone – there is much more danger than with a crew.

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Today’s verse is a warning about neglecting being in community. Have you been there? Do you try to do life alone? Have you found yourself making excuses to watch services online or not at all instead of gathering in a room with others seeking to know and follow Jesus? Are you someone who seeks out people to do life with or do you prefer going-it-alone? Just like my garden, and so many other examples that may come to mind of things that go sideways when we neglect them, so do our lives when we are trying to make it on our own. Yes, we have God present and the Holy Spirit to guide us, but the writer is making it clear that there is more. We have a responsibility to one another – to encourage one another. Our encouragement should be increasing day by day as we know we steadily grow closer to the day that Jesus will return.

Encouraging one another isn’t just cheering – though that can be helpful at times. Encouraging may also be challenging one another – to take next steps in our faith and following Jesus. It may be helping someone see where they have gotten off course. It should be confessing to one another so that we can grow in accountability and become more and more like Jesus.  

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We need people. We have a responsibility to encourage – which means that we must know others and let ourselves be known.

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Are you doing this? Simply sitting in a church building next to some people does not fulfill the intent of this verse. Can you name several people who you regularly encourage and who you’ve let know you well enough so that they can appropriately encourage you?

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Don’t neglect this! Find your people – invite them to know you and encourage you in specific ways. Are you in a group – a community where this is regularly practiced? If not, Group Launch is coming Sunday, August 23^rd. Be ready to explore new groups and find a community you’ll commit to starting in September.

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It’s time to stop neglecting and increase our intentional care for one another. Find someone this week that you can encourage!