The church is the body of Christ, and every member is important and vital to its overall growth and well-being.  This being the case, we should recognize the worth of every member.  It has been said that everybody is somebody in Christ’s body, and that is absolutely true.  Paul confirmed it to be so (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

As members of the body of Christ, we have responsibilities toward one another.  How we treat each other in the church will do a lot to determine how successful we are as local churches.  One responsibility we have is to encourage one another.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The Greek word for “encourage” literally means “to call near.”  We encourage others when we call them to us with words of comfort or acts of kindness, helping them in times of need.  Paul wrote of our responsibility to comfort each other in 2 Corinthians, basing it on the fact that we have been comforted by God. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)
³  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Our obligation to encourage one another does not stop with helping each other in times of need.  We should strive to be an encouragement to others consistently.  If you have been married for a good while, and you have enjoyed a strong and loving marriage, you are in a position to encourage those who are just beginning that journey by teaching them what it takes to be a good husband or wife, and, of course, by continuing to be a good example.

Titus 2:2-8 (ESV)
²  Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. ³  Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴  and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵  to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ⁶  Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. ⁷  Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, ⁸  and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

We can encourage one another by complimenting brethren for their faithful service to the Lord.  I am not talking about flattering others just to get on their good side, but the sincere acknowledgment of faithfulness to God.  Such encouragement can motivate brethren to try even harder in their efforts to do the will of the Lord.

We can also be an encouragement to one another just by our general disposition.  When others see our joy for the Lord it can lift them up and encourage them to want to share in that joy.  It is a comfort and encouragement to be around those who are kind and pleasant and friendly.  Are you one of those people?  Are you an encouragement to be around?

It is a lot easier to discourage than it is to encourage.  Do not allow the devil to turn you into someone who is always discouraging others.  That does not benefit the cause of Christ at all.  Unless it is an attempt to discourage one from sin, we all need to strive to encourage one another.  

As you wind down for the night, think about these things