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One summer, our son brought us two large bags of freshly-picked blueberries from his farm.

Blueberries are my favorite fruit, so I stored them in the freezer to enjoy them for months to come. Later, when I grabbed a bag to add some to my yogurt, I encountered a solid chunk of blue. Each berry had fused with its neighbor, and there was no separating them.

Determined to eat blueberries, I attacked the solid mass with a wooden spoon, but to no avail. That is, until I turned my weapon to the edges. Then I was able to break off enough precious berries for my yogurt.

God loves each of us as individuals, though we are many. He sent His Son to save us, then established His church to preserve us in His saving grace. Kind of how I used my freezer for the blueberries. Through the unity of our faith, we become a rock that is impervious to frontal attacks by that roaring lion, the Devil.

But those blueberries, weakly attached at the edges in a frozen chunk, broke off easily. Being spiritual or good without clinging to the strength of a faith community—or attending worship occasionally or only for social reasons—places us at the edge of the Christian faith and makes us easy pickings for Satan.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I sorely missed physical fellowship with my church family. Sometimes, after singing a rousing hymn, we would spontaneously break out in applause because our communal praise simply overwhelmed us.

I could have said watching church service from my living room was not the same, and that I had other things to do on Sunday. Yet situations and attitudes like that separate me from my church family just when I need their faith and grace the most.

I will not live on the edge of my faith. I will worship and communicate with, pray for, and help my fellow believers. And the Devil can go find his blueberries somewhere else.

What keeps you from fellowshipping with and helping other believers?

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)