Community and the Body of Christ

In our world, genuine relationships are becoming more and more uncommon. We have classmates in school— until they move away or transfer to a different school. We have co-workers— until they quit or are reassigned to another area of the company. We have family— but oftentimes they live half a country away.
We live in our "fortresses," raising the garage door like a drawbridge, and entering our castles, never to see another person. The younger generation (that's you) is screaming out for genuine relationships with others. Where will they find people they can genuinely "connect" with?
The shallow relationships the world offers cannot be compared to the community of brothers and sisters in Christ. As John tells us, if we are God's children, then other believers are our brothers and sisters. If we love our Father, then we should love his children too. 1 John 5:1 says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."
This bond of Christian brotherhood is universal: it transcends language, geography, or social standing. In Galatians 3:28, Paul says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
This love for other believers is indicative of a person's love for God himself. If one does not love God, he will not love other believers. "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also" (1 John 4:20–21).
What about you? Are you interested in genuine relationships? Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? While the world cries out for "community," God has given us the Body of Christ.

Eben-ezer

In 1 Samuel 7:12, we read of a memorial ceremony performed by Samuel, God's prophet. "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, 'Till now the LORD has helped us.'" Following Israel's rout of the Philistines, Samuel took a rock and erected it as a sort of monument between Mizpeh and Shen. He called the rock "Ebenezer," which is two words in Hebrew meaning "helping stone." This rock memorial was to symbolize God's help in the victory over the Philistines.
Whenever they saw that stone, the people were to remember God's care and aid in the past. "To this point God has been our helper." The implication of course is that just as God had brought them to this point, so he would continue to help, guide, and care for them.
This is what the second stanza of the hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is alluding to (unfortunately, our hymnal changes it to "sign of victory"). It says,
"Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home."
As we begin a new year, we look forward to what lies ahead: new friends, new experiences, new relationships, and new skills. Perhaps this will be the year that Jesus Christ will return to snatch his Church away to be with him. Perhaps we will go through incredible difficulty or trials. We thank God for his help and strength throughout the past year. We look back and say, "To this point God has helped us." At the same time, we look forward and say, "We know our faithful God will continue to help us."