How (Not) to Save the World: The Truth About Revealing God’s Love to the People Right Next to YouSample

How (Not) to Save the World: Always Fly Solo

When I first began my ministry, I spent more than four years traveling to various churches and events around the country. I stayed as a guest in different people’s homes during this time and I never wanted to overstay my welcome. Early on I met Sean and Shelley. I was invited to perform for their upcoming five-week church series and I’d be staying in a guest room in their home. They treated me like family. The more hospitable they were toward me, the more insane I thought they were. I didn’t need their help or their pity—I knew how to survive on my own. I was just here for work. I tried to keep them at arm’s length.

When I made the decision to go on the road, I had never felt less supported and more alone, but I was a fighter. I had proven to myself over and over again that I could do more things alone than most people could. Letting people in would slow me down, and I was leaving Sean and Shelley’s house in a month anyway.

It took me years to realize what I wish I had known my whole life: Always flying solo? That’s how (not) to save the world. The truth is that alone we will never fulfill God’s full purposes for our lives and become who He has made us to be. Community can be a difficult thing. Many of us have been connected to a community that deeply hurt us, and we don’t want to trust the wrong people. And we’ve decided we can survive alone if we have to. 

The Creator of the universe designed us to be in community—with God and with each other. Community is not optional. It’s essential for our lives to reach their full potential. Community empowers us not only to complete the tasks God has called us to but to become the people He has made us to be. And the Enemy knows this. He wants us to believe the lie that we don’t need community.

Sean and Shelley showed me what a real Jesus-centered community could actually be like. I realized I could do life alone, but I could not obey God to the best of my ability without letting real friendships in. They taught me that I could be a part of creating the kind of community I was praying for. 

When God puts someone in your life, don’t ignore it. If you do, you will miss out on the various life-giving relationships around you that can build and strengthen you. Resist the temptation to limit what God wants to do in and through your life and through His people.

For many of us the first step is to start accepting and start asking. Decide that your purpose is worth activating, and since community strengthens it, it’s worth taking a risk for and a step toward. If we decide to do life all alone, we will never be our best. The Church is Jesus’ plan to reach a world that desperately needs Him. The more unified we are, the greater our impact will be. God is calling us, His Church, to partner with Him on His mission to save the world. 

Respond

Why is it sometimes hard to engage in community? 

How can you be more connected to an authentic community of committed followers of Jesus? How can you be a part of building that kind of community?

Who is someone you could have the courage to reach out to and connect with? 

Want to dive deeper into how to fight for those you love, and grow deeper in your faith?

Download a free chapter of How (Not) to Save the World & learn more about the book here: www.hosannawong.com/savetheworld.