Hebrews 10:24-25 | And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Every one of us must run our own race, but we also have the responsibility to be encouragers to other runners and they to us. Hebrews 10:24-25 admonishes us to be supporters of our fellow believers, stirring one another up to love and good works. We are to do this by encouraging growth in other believers, supporting them on their path of discipleship and holding them accountable for their words, attitudes and actions. We accomplish this by spending time together as Christ followers in small and large groups.

While we run our own race, we don’t run it alone. We are surrounded by a number of people who encourage and support us in our race. These are the people that know us well and are involved in our day to day life. They celebrate our advances with us and console us in our setbacks. They encourage us to keep on track, to keep going, to keep striving for the finish line. These people are called our small group, that handful of people who are most intimately connected to our lives. God has given them to us and us to them for our mutual encouragement and edification. As they are a critical part of our support, so are we to them. Verse 25 warns us not to neglect meeting together as some have done. We are better together.

In the same way that a field of wheat will grow better, bigger and stronger than a single stem of wheat isolated amongst the weeds, we too as Christ followers grow bigger, better and stronger together than we do alone. Get connected and stay connected.