At a recent Gospel Meeting, the preacher’s wife gifted my wife some washcloths she had knitted. Apparently, this is more than a passing hobby, as she knits for her family and for others.
While in the mountains, I came across the story of a woman named Grace who knitted blankets—not for profit or recognition, but for people she’d never met.
Each blanket Grace made was different—some bright and colorful, others soft and muted—but every stitch was intentional. She once explained, “When I knit, every loop depends on the one before it. If one stitch is dropped, it can unravel the whole piece. But when they’re connected, they create something strong, warm, and beautiful.”
Grace volunteered with a group that provided handmade blankets to families in crisis—hospital patients, foster children, and those who had lost their homes. One recipient, a young boy going through chemotherapy, clung to his blanket and told his nurse, “It feels like someone is hugging me.”
What struck Grace most wasn’t just the blankets themselves, but what they represented. Strangers—people who would never meet—were connected through threads of care, compassion, and quiet love. Each stitch, though small on its own, became part of something much greater.
The art of knitting paints a beautiful picture of what the apostle Paul described in Epistle to the Colossians 2:2—being “knit together in love.”
Like strands of yarn woven into a washcloth or a blanket, God ordained our lives to be interwoven with fellow believers. We are not to be isolated, disconnected, or detached, but deliberately joined together in fellowship, strengthening one another and displaying God’s workmanship in Christ (Eph. 2:10).
Other translations render the phrase “knit together in love” as “united in love” or “joined together in love.” The Message, a popular paraphrase, offers this beautiful thought: “I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God.”
Warren Wiersbe observed that this single verse speaks to the evidence of spiritual maturity in a church family:
- Encouragement — “that their hearts might be comforted.”
- Endearment — “being knit together in love.”
- Enlightenment — “full assurance of understanding.”
- Enrichment — “unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding.”
Reflecting on these qualities, it appears that encouragement, enlightenment, and enrichment are all held together by the endearment of love. Or as Paul expressed it in Colossians 3:14, love is “the bond of perfection.”
Think about the power of being “knit together in love.” What does that look like in everyday life within a local church family?
#1 By a shared commitment to Christ
Our unity is not built on personality or preference, but on a shared life in Christ.
This expression “in Christ” is found repeatedly in the New Testament. The inspired writer emphasizes that all believers are one in Christ (Gal. 3:26–27). We share spiritual blessings, a common salvation, and a mutual hope.
Recognizing that our fellowship is founded and forged “in Christ” provides the basis for our relationships to align naturally and bond spiritually.
#2 By intentional connection
Knitting requires deliberate focus—a conscious action that demands attention to properly form each stitch.
In the same way, meaningful relationships don’t develop by accident. We must choose to engage with fellow Christians—to invest time, effort, and energy in getting to know one another and growing closer.
Worshiping in the same building is not enough. Our gathering must go beyond presence to include mutual encouragement and edification (Heb. 10:24–25; Rom. 14:19).
Graciously extending “hospitality to one another” (1 Pet. 4:9) further strengthens our bond and builds relationships that are real.
#3 By genuine care and concern
Being “knit together in love” produces more than surface-level politeness. It calls us to heartfelt concern—to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15).
As Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 12, when “the members have the same care for one another,” if one member suffers, all suffer together.
As I write these words, I’m looking at a washcloth the dear sister gave Norma Jean. It’s simple, yet the threads are intricately and beautifully woven together with five different colors. The individual pieces of yarn wouldn’t accomplish much on their own, but together they serve a purpose.
When we come together as one—truly knit together in love—we begin to reflect the heart of God.
So look around your church family. Strengthen a thread. Repair a broken stitch. Draw closer to someone who feels disconnected.
Because when love binds us together, the world doesn’t just see a church—they see the Master Weaver at work.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
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