Community

Community matters a lot to God. Let me tell you why. Paul writes about unity and community so much, there must be some significance. Church isn’t a place you go. It’s a body. We don’t visit church just to have personal time with God. Jesus didn’t come just so we could have a personal relationship with Him. He is building a temple, a family, a dwelling place for God (Eph. 2:22). If you read Ephesians 2:19-20, we join ourselves with the saints, apostles, prophets, and Christ Himself.

Community is hard. Maybe we don’t like the people, the church, songs, classes, preacher, or teacher. Then we disconnect. It is hard because it is mean to tie people together that normally wouldn’t get a long (Gal. 3:28). There was Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot. Paul was intelligent and well-educated, and Peter was a fisherman. The point is that we find people who have experienced Jesus lukewarm us. We learn how to love. 

Personally the biggest way I have grown is through difficult relationships and difficult times. We gain spiritual growth, also learning to ask for help from friends. With spiritual growth comes greater joy, peace, patience, hope, and life. 

Think on this. When we keep things surface level we are robbing the body of Christ of mature believers. We cannot avoid the difficulties of community. We must learn to mature. Here are some challenges:

• Challenge One: Pray for opportunities to connect with people at church or anywhere, workplace or neighborhood, that might be isolated.
• Challenge Two: Invite the new person in church for coffee or food, or just write them an encouraging card. Connect with them in some way. Don’t fly see that person as a tool for the church. While we are tools and have a purpose, we are all human.  

Think of the example in Mark 2:3-5. Four friends are holding on to the corners of a mat with their paralyzed friend in it. They break open the roof and lower him down. Imagine the emotional state of these friends. They had to be in some distress for their friend. Where did that lead them? Directly to the feet of Jesus. We all face the same giant of life. Hold on to one another! Lean into community!

For those who feel lonely or isolated, take a step. Be a safe place for someone else. Reach out. Be a friend. Sometimes you have to go first. 

Why did Jesus die on the cross? Some say He paid the price for our sins. God loved the world. He who knew no sin was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). These are very true, but He also died so that we could be unified in community.