There are many ways that Christians benefit in this life. The greatest benefit we receive as Christians is, of course, in eternity; but there are many benefits we receive now. In Matthew 10:35-36 Jesus says, “For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’” If we try to live as faithful Christians, we may find that our own family will turn against us. In regard to this, Jesus tells us in Mark 10:29-30, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” If being true to the gospel means that our physical family turns against us, we will gain a family a hundred times as big. The family that we receive is the church. In the church we have one of the greatest support groups imaginable. God does not do things for no reason. When God organized the church as He did, it was because it was necessary to do so. One of the greatest reasons for the local congregation is so that each member of the congregation can rely on the others for help when needed. God set up the local congregation for our benefit, so we must never under-value its importance. In Acts 2:44-45 we read, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.” This was not an experiment in socialism as some people claim, but rather an example of the early church taking care of one another. In Romans twelve the apostle Paul tells his readers how Christians should act toward one another. In verses 9-10 Paul says, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” In verse 13 Paul says, “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” In 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 Paul says, “that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Some people think that assembling with the local congregation for all services isn’t necessary, others think that watching on a computer screen is enough. It is not. (Hebrews 10:25). Besides, when your spiritual family is coming together, why would you want to be somewhere else?