Looking at "one another"

It was 20+ years ago I did a personal study before starting a campaign with the local church, centered around the verses in the New Testament that dealt with the phrase, "one another."  That campaign led to the formation of small groups from the membership of our church, and we had meetings once a month with our groups which included not only Bible study, but social meetings where we could get better acquainted with the membership. 

Maybe my previous in-depth study and preparations for our small groups has perked my interest and study again, this time in the Sunday sermons the preacher has been delivering for several weeks.  Yes, I thought I was very acquainted with those verses, but now I admit I may have learned them, but putting them into practice has been more of a challenge during this sermon series. 

I do not intend to "re-hash" the sermon material, but I do want to open the eyes of all Christians on the number of times the phrases "one another" and "each other" are used in the New Testament.  Not only do I challenge you to find them with the aid of a concordance, but specifically see how each of these deals directly with your relationships within the local churches.

Here is the difference in the two studies on this topic.  The first was very good for us in that we did have direct association with others in our group for Bible study.  Perhaps our eyes were opened to the need for us to be closer to one another, because we share the common kinship in the faith, and because we were the family of God and needed to draw strength from each other. 

The current study is covering those same verses, but carries a more direct application of these Bible truths.  In fact, every member of our congregation has been challenged to actually go beyond what may be commanded, and go the second mile in our goal of spreading happiness in the lives of the people we meet.  Our challenge is to make 100 people happy in 40 days, through sharing our faith, helping with chores, ministering to the sick, visiting those imprisoned, of just being a friend to someone who needs one.   The choices of how your go about this are up to you.  You just need to be aiming toward bringing happiness to 100 people in 40 days. 

We have been given some reports when the church gathers on Sunday, telling some success stories from those who have a story to tell about someone they met, or encountered, and the smiles and moments of happiness it brought to their lives.  People involved in this are keeping a journal of their stories, and have come to learn, the person we try to bless with happiness, isn't the only one that is happy.  That's because the happiness comes back to bless us, too. 

I think I can see beyond the 40 day assignment.  I see Christian people that have accepted and are learning from this simple assignment of 100 people, these things are supposed to be normal daily activities which most will continue doing, even after the end of the sermon series.  So this time around, we not only learn by doing, but we make people happy, which brings happiness back to us, and we find our lives are changed as we practice the Bible principle toward each other, and it's been there all along.

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