Power of People

In Roman times, soldiers carried a shield, made of pressed wood and reinforced with iron and brass. In battle, this shield kept them from injury so they could live to fight another day.

When a centuria of soldiers was under heavy fire, they would form a "testudo" or tortoise. This formation was created from the shields of all the soldiers, and together it made a "shell" that protected all of the soldiers more completely than any one shield could protect one soldier. 

This is why I am part of a church. My personal faith is an amazing thing that gives me an identity, a purpose, and an understanding of the world. It protects me from the "flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). But it's not enough. In the same way a soldier's body isn't completely covered by a shield, my faith is inadequate if I practice it in solitude. 

But if I combine my faith with the faith of a teenager who is pursuing a calling from God, the faith of a friend who overcame in spite of divorce, the faith of a mentor who faced her own battles in ministry, and a hundred others- we build one another up, encourage each other, inspire each other, and are there for one another. We create a household of faith, a protective covering with the ability to protect us from spiritual attacks.  

God "sets the lonely in families" (Psalms 68:6). No one is meant to do life alone.