Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. - Romans 12:14-15

Dear Heavenly Father, I see in your word that you want me to be an active, interdependent part of the larger body of Christ at my church; but in my heart, there is another force that drives me to keep things on the surface, to only see my church as a place to attend and not a community to bless and be blessed by. Your word above is very clear. The picture of harmonizing shows how closely you want me to be connected to my family of believers so that I rejoice in the good things happening in their lives and I grieve with them when they are grieving. You want me to be caught deeply in the web of Christian relationships. Oh Father, help me to be more vulnerable to the people at my church and give me the opportunity and ability to become more of a close friend to the people there. AMEN

Being connected to a church family is vastly more than simply attending a Sunday service that we like.

Additional Reading: Matthew 5:43-48, Job 30:25, 1 Corinthians 12:4-27