Paul wrote, "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do" (1 Thess. 5:11). There is no greater need in the church today than for Christians to encourage each other in service to God. The world can be a very discouraging place to live. When we are told there is another cause of cancer and when we hear of reported incidents of crime in our own community discouragement naturally comes.

As Christians, what are we to do? I believe there is hope, there is a haven of rest we can turn to, a place in which we can rejoice. God's instrument of encouragement in the world is the fellowship of His children in Christ's church.

What Is Encouragement?

It literally means to give someone courage. The word comfort is synonymous with our word encourage in the New Testament. It comes from the Greek word parakleio, which denotes the idea in the original of "calling along side of..." It represents the idea of one climbing up a hill and someone helping the struggling brother to conquer the challenge. It is the attitude of heart that says, "Brother, you may not think you are going to be able to overcome this, but you are because I am going to help you. I am going to pray for you, I am going to encourage you and I am going to stand beside you through thick and thin until we make it over the top together." This is a word that indicates a sharing of life, burdens and concerns.

Why Should We Encourage Each Other?

We have a responsibility to encourage each other and to build one another up spiritually. The world has no real encouragement to offer. Satan promises us pleasure but furnishes pain. The world is centered in the here and now and has no spiritual encouragement to provide.

Only the faithful in Christ have the message to encourage the lost. Only the gospel has the power to give people a sense of spiritual bravery. Only God's word can move us when nothing else can, only the inspired will of God can take us from the pits of unbelief to the pinnacles and heights of faith and hope (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Encouragement is an essential part of the church fulfilling its work and mission. You show me a congregation where the members are on one another's back all the time and I'll show you a congregation that doesn't have time to reach the community because they're too busy biting and devouring one another.

But, on the other hand, you show me a congregation that is encouraging and lifting one another up and I'll show you a congregation that is having an effect on the community.

How Do We Encourage Each Other?

There are several ways in which we can encourage one another. The primary source of encouragement is the word of God. We can also encourage one another through shared experiences of life. Brethren, it is imperative that we realize others have experienced whatever it is we are going through.

Friends, it is not the encouragement from the pulpit, or from the elders that has the most powerful influence, but the encouragement that comes from each and every member of a congregation. It is our responsibility as Christians to encourage, and when we do, God's work will flourish!