GPC aka GLORY PRESBYTERIAN COMMUNITY

BY REV GOH YONG KUANG

One common word that best describes the church is the word “community”.

The word “community” has the word “unity” in it. In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told that all the believers were “united in heart and mind” (Acts 4:32a, NLT). 

Then, there was a sense of responsibility that comes with being part of a community. The early believers were responsible for one another! They would give up things that were precious and important to them, so they could meet the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ (Acts 4:32b). This means that in the Christian community, no one is expected to live for himself, but rather to live for others.

Our testimony to the world which we are called to reach out for Christ depends on the way we treat one another. Jesus once said to his disciples, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35). He didn’t say that people will know we belong to God by our doctrine, our ritual, or our evangelistic programmes. Rather, He tells us in no uncertain terms that the only way the world will identify us as God’s people is by our love for one another (John 13:35).

It is almost impossible to convince others that God loves them if we are not even around to love and care for one another. If we fail to heed and apply this truth in Acts 4, we miss the primary appeal of Christianity and render ourselves totally irrelevant to our community and society.

As believers in Christ, we are never called to be alone. God has called us into a community – the Glory community!

Are you part of this community?

If you are, are you committed to such a community – playing your part in the sharing and caring of one another in God’s family?

PRAYER

Lord of the church, thank you for the many blessings that we share as a community of faith here at Glory! You did not only call us to Yourself but also called us to one another. As your people, help us not only to be different from the world, but to be better people than those in the world. Lord, we now ask for strength to live not for ourselves - but to live for others in the community to which we belong. As you have blessed us, make us a blessing to everyone around us. Amen!