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The passage we read on Sunday begins with John the baptizer pointing to Jesus and exclaiming, “Look, the Lamb of God!” He was trying to turn people’s eyes away from him and toward Jesus. At least two of his disciples got it. We also know that several other disciples continued to follow John and didn’t follow Jesus (at least not yet). On Sunday, I reflected on the importance of looking to Jesus and following him. This isn’t an easy thing to do so reminding ourselves of this focus is good! I’m very aware of the failures of people, myself and others. Honestly, I don’t need Romans 3:23 to tell me that “all fall short.” That seems pretty apparent through even a cursory observation of the world. But, believe it or not, there is a danger that can come in an emphasis on looking to Jesus. I’m going to consider that briefly in this Covenant Weekly for January 6, 2025.

Many years ago, in my first full time pastoral position, I was responsible for music at a church in London, ON. In my role, I decided to write a memorable and encouraging chorus for our church to sing together - something that could stick in our heads on the way home and remind us, throughout the week, of the importance of maintaining a constant connection with God. Leaning into my two and half decades of being shaped first by hymns, then by a new vein of songwriters like Graham Kendrick, Robin Mark, Geoff Bullock, and Darlene Zschech, I wrote a simple chorus that sought to celebrate something true about God and focus on our deep connection with the Father. It went something like this.

You alone are all I need.
Your beauty exceeds any other.
And I long to dwell in your intimacy.
You alone are all I need.

It fit so well with the ethos of the day. It expressed complete dependence on God. It celebrated God’s supremacy. And it expressed a desire for a close connection with God. It had everything and people really got into singing it. The song was true to what we said we believed about our relationship with God.

It didn’t have Jesus’ name in it, but in the context of a Sunday morning gathering or in the life of a Jesus follower, that would be presumed. It emphasized a Jesus centrality to our lives that was powerful and encouraging. Or so I thought.

Then I spent a big chunk of time digging into the first few chapters of Genesis. I found myself really paying attention to what was said. Imagine my shock, in reading Genesis 2. In the Genesis 2 account of God forming the world, God has formed the earth and a man and all the animals. The man has been given an assignment. He has a purpose. And this man has an unmarred relationship with God. And then we read these words ascribed to God, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”

Wait! This didn’t make sense! My super-spiritual upbringing had raised me to believe that all we needed was God and I’d put that idea explicitly into a song, the message of which thoughtful Christian people affirmed.

But from the very beginning, God’s message was that we did need more than God. We were created to be in relationships with other people. Over and over again in the Bible the essential nature of community is taught and demonstrated.

This is the danger I speak of. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. But if we give the impression that Jesus is all we need, we set each other up for failure at best, feelings of condemnation at worst.

We are to work to follow Jesus, to embody his ways in the world. But Jesus is not all we need. He invited us to be in relationship with each other, relationships in which we receive things like support, encouragement, rebuke, examples, and mutual submission as we follow Jesus together. To miss out on what we offer each other, however imperfectly, is to miss out on what is essential to thrive.

Worst case scenario, if we suggest that all we need is Jesus, we can foster feelings of guilt, condemnation, and failure in people. If someone who feels lonely even though God is with them is told that a good Christian only needs Jesus, it isn’t a stretch for them to believe that something must be wrong with them or their faith because Jesus doesn’t feel like enough. This can be true whether someone is an 80 year old widower, an unmarried 35 year old, or a teenager struggling to connect with parents and peers. The last thing they need to to be told, implicitly or explicitly, that something is wrong with them because they’re following Jesus, but still have normal human desires and longings. Jesus alone isn’t all they need.

Our connection with Jesus is unique. God is the only one who will never truly fail us, never leave us, never forsake us (even though it sometimes feels like God does and even though Rick Astley promised he wouldn’t). Sometimes, in our hard days, we desperately need to be reminded that God will not fail us, leave us, or forsake us, and to hold on to that. But that’s not the same as saying God is all we need. We’re created for more than that. So pursue the deep, true desires God has placed in your heart knowing that God is in that pursuit with you. Enjoy the beauty of life, the struggle of relationships, and the goodness of God knowing the Spirit of God is in you and that it is all a part of what we were created for in the first place.