We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 4:19-21
"How is it with your soul?"
Another pastor asked me this question recently. I guess John Wesley used to ask this question often among his people. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated being asked this. I’ve come to realize how much I need other followers of Jesus. I believe this is how we’ve been created. To be depended on God and one another.
In Chapter 3 of the The Calvary Road, Roy Hession says, “The work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross was not only to bring men back into fellowship with God, but also into fellowship with their fellow men. Indeed it cannot do one without the other. As the spokes get nearer the centre of the wheel, they get nearer to one another. But if we have not been brought into vital fellowship with our brother, it is a proof that to that extent we have not been brought into vital fellowship with God.”
So our dependance on one another indicates where we are with God and points unbelievers to Him. Jesus said that in John 17. But it is also for our benefit. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. … A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9,10,12b
So why did it mean so much to me that my friend asked me, “How is it with your soul?” Because It meant I’m not alone. Actually God reminded me He was with me through and in my friend.
By the way, my soul is well!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the fellowship we have with You! You are so amazing! Thank you Lord also for those You’ve put into our lives for our benefit. Lord we need You and we need one another. Help us Lord to draw closer to You. Let the proof of our relationship with You be in our relationships with one another.