Pepsi Lessons

The other day, I attended a movie premiere and brought with me a Pepsi (my drink of choice). During the evening, I ate a lot of the gummy candy I'd brought along, but the Pepsi was mostly forgotten. By the end of the evening, my loyal 16 ounces were hardly consumed. When I headed home, I put the Pepsi down on my desk and forgot about it.
A few days later I was faithfully cleaning my room when I found the Pepsi again. I was almost certain the carbonation would have gone out entirely, since I hadn't put it in the fridge. However, when I took a swig to try out my theory, the Pepsi was surprisingly fresh, fizzy, even cool from my room! Without knowing, I had screwed the cap on well enough a couple of days before to maintain the carbonation.
The thought of this Pepsi reminded me of Hebrews 2.
"Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today", that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."
I am, as a believer, like the Pepsi. If I maintain my 'carbonation'---my connection to Christ---I will be fresh, like 'streams of living water' to those in the deserts of this world. However, if I go flat, hardened by sin, I will end up being very unproductive for the Gospel I originally held to in professing Christ as my Lord. My brothers and sisters in Christ are like the person who tightens my 'cap' again to maintain my obedience and freshness in God; without them as well, I would become flat.
The same could be said for us encouraging our fellow brothers and sisters. What can we do to be there for them? Do we pray for them, but also tell them we have been praying? Do we offer them a listening ear? Do we send them an uplifting message? Write them a letter? Give them a gift? We as brothers and sisters in Christ are called to be an example to the world of how Christ has treated us; by supporting one another and keeping their freshness for the Lord's work in their life, even if that calling is not like our own.