… ²⁴ and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds …

Stimulation is what fellowship is all about—that is, in the sense of provoking or motivating another person. Christians should make a difference, particularly with each other. I am not saved to coast through life being comfortable or stimulated for my own personal enjoyment. Life has a far greater purpose, one that is outward focused rather than inward centered.

The third take away is marked by the third occurrence of the phrase “let us.” We are challenged to consider deeply our responsibility as followers of Christ who have clear access to God’s presence and who have a great high priest. My fellow Christians need me, and I need them. Have you noticed how many times we are commanded to encourage one another (see for example 1 Thess 5:11)? We should talk only in ways that bring grace to others (Eph 4:29). We are to comfort one another with words of hope (1 Thess 4:18). Our pursuits must include a strong element of building up believers (Rom 14:19). Are we not given spiritual gifts so that we can build up the body of believers?

Why do we do all these things? Because the Lord has designed the community of believers to be like a body, all interwoven in an intricate design, each part needing the others in order to function well. This is what is described elsewhere: “… the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Eph 4:16). We need the stimulus of each member of the body of Christ working together.

Now the goal is not just so that the body of Christ is living, but that it communally reflects the character and work of Christ. We need to grow in ability “to love and do good deeds.” True, we need to work together, but at the character level, we each need the stimulus of the lives of other Christians. I am motivated when I see others going all out for Christ or who sacrifice and love greatly. It may be that I am provoked to jealousy when I see the impact they have on others. Or it may just stir up in me the spirit of love as I see God’s love in action in and through the lives of others. After all, we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). God not only loved us when sending Christ to die for us, but He also loves us through the love and good deeds of others toward us. That stirs up the “spirit of love” in us (2 Tim 1:7).

Lord, what better task could You have given to me, than to be a catalyst in another person’s life to grow in love and good deeds?