What Makes It Strong?

    My daughter and I were recently on a hike though the most unusual woods I had ever been in. It was a bamboo forest. Have you ever seen bamboo growing wild? While it is technically in the grass family, bamboo shoots rise higher than a most trees in the Midwest. The “forest” Erica and I hiked through was so thick that at 1:00 in the afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky, the tops shielded the sun so much so that it felt like nightfall down where we were walking.
    One shoot had fallen over and Erica stepped on it. A giant crack reverberated and the shoot, still green, broke where she had stepped. I thought, “Wow, these are fragile.” I grabbed a standing shoot and started to shake it. I didn’t, but it was quickly apparent that I could pull the 30 foot tall cane down by myself. While we were walking, we heard constant banging, squeaking, and crackling, from the canes rubbing up against each other in the wind (it was almost musical). As we left the forest, I noted how strong the wind was blowing...15mph, or so. I wondered, “How does the bamboo grow so tall and remain unharmed against the forces of nature? What keeps it from being blown over in the wind?” I did notice that on the edges of the forest, many shoots were uprooted and lying on the ground, probably from the wind. But yet, there was a giant forest of them still undamaged.
    And then it occurred to me. The bamboo in the forest was protected by the other bamboo in the forest. The wind blows and any stalk standing alone would be merciless against it. But in a forest of bamboo, the strength of the wind is both dissipated and the other shoots support and hold up one another. The flowering branches at the tops of the shoots were all intermingled with one another, both blocking the sun (why it was so dark down below) and holding each other up against the strength of the wind.
    The bamboo forest stands tall and remains strong because it is a forest.
    And so it is in Christian community.
    Lone Ranger Christians are vulnerable against the attacks of Satan and pressure from the world. When God saved us as individuals, he saved us to be part of his family. We were created for community and saved to both promote it as well as participate in it. We are like bamboo. Alone, we will quickly fall prey to opposing forces. Together, we can give and receive all the support that is needed.
    Are you on the fringe? Are you like the bamboo shoots that are susceptible and unsupported. Are you trying to go-it-alone? Have you yet to fully embrace the value of Christian community?
    The local church is God’s brainchild, and he established it for your benefit. Dive in! Serve. Support. Be supported. If you haven’t signed up yet, join a Life Group today!