“And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7a NASB).

God the Son comes to earth as a newborn baby. This baby Jesus was not self-sufficient in any way and he completely depended upon others to care for him, nourish him, and provide for him. I find this amazing. I believe that it is important for us to remember how much we need others. Each of us, like Jesus was born as a baby who required others to completely care for all of our needs, and though we grow up and become more self-sufficient, I do not believe we were intended to live completely independent of others.

Even in the creation accounts we see this need for community. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). God intended us to live in and as a community with him and others. In Genesis 1, at the end of each day’s creation work, God deems it as “good,” and in this account it is male and female created in his image and jointly given dominion and jointly blessed that God declares as “good” (Genesis 1: 26-28). We were created for relationship and to work and live together in community. We were created to need each other.

It is not always easy to ask for help or admit that we are not able to handle everything ourselves, yet this is what being the church is all about. The image of the church as a body illustrates that it is by us working together and for one another that the body is able to function properly. God knows that we need help from others. It is not a failure on our part to need others, despite a mindset that we may have to prove to ourselves and others that “we don’t need anyone.” We experience the greatest joy of humanity by humbling ourselves and living in community where we become vulnerable to others and allow them to be vulnerable with us. There is so much joy and blessing in living among others who help you and allow themselves to be helped by you.

I’m in a season of my life where I have become my husband’s caretaker. It has put me in a position where I have had to let go of my pride and frequently asked people for help. It is not always an easy thing to do, as I don’t want to inconvenience others, but life has required it. I have found over the past year that allowing others to help me has not only resulted in feeling blessed, but I feel more deeply ingrained in my community. I find comfort in this image of Jesus as a completely dependent baby, as it reminds us that all of us need others.