I’ll start with a quote from someone I read quite often .  “The church exists to help people form loving relationships that move them in the direction of their destiny.  If we are not being influenced to that end and influencing others to that end, a checkup is necessary.”  Okay, that was from my own blog two weeks ago and I only read my own blogs to proofread them well before sending them out to the public.  The reason I restate that truth, and it is a truth, is because I’ll be revisiting the subject this coming Sunday.  We become “rugged individualists” for any number of reasons.  Some people struggle to love and receive love because of issues in their “home of origin.”  Some people have been deeply hurt by others and simply do not want to try again.  Some people are introverts and feel drained after spending time with others.  Some people are just selfish and find other people are in the way of their own agenda.  Whatever the reason or the excuse the truth is, we were designed for interdependent relationships that move us toward what God intended.  Some relationships are not helpful because the end result is not righteous but unrighteous.  Bad company can corrupt otherwise good people.  The body of Christ should be a place where our love increases more and more, where that love is characterized by discernment and where we approve things that are excellent.  (See Philippians 1)  Loving one another is not easy; no one ever said it would be.  But, loving one another is essential to our growth and just as important, it is proof of our relationship with God.  There are some people who want Jesus without the Body and there are some people who want the Body without Jesus but both groups are wrong.  Jesus and His Body go together.  Are your current relationships moving you in the direction of your destiny?  Do you have people you can pray with?  Is anyone currently assisting you to take on the likeness of Jesus?  It was my delight this past week to read some essays by C.S. Lewis, in “Membership,” he wrote, “The Christian is not called to individualism but to membership in the mystical body…and we shall first be true persons when we have suffered ourselves to be fitted into our places.”  We need the Head of the Body, Jesus Christ…and we need the Body of the Head, the Church.  Love one another and find out who you really are.