Community You Were Made For
The life you have been given is the very place where God wants to encounter you. It's not about waiting until you have everything figured out, become perfect, or until life settles down and you have more time. No, the life you are living right now, through every phase of life, is the exact place where He wants to meet you. The home you have is the haven He wants to create for you. The bed where you sleep is where He wants to give you dreams at night, revealing Himself to you as you rest.
The church you attend week after week and the chair you sit in is precisely where He wants you to experience His presence. The people around you in that long, rectangular, wood-ceiling sanctuary are the ones He has intentionally placed in your life. He had a deliberate strategy in surrounding you with these exact individuals so they could help teach you the way of following Jesus. Those who sit to your right and to your left, the ones across the aisle that are 20 years your senior or the family that is behind you that you may have never spoken to, these people are the ones God placed in your life, for you, for your benefit; they are a gift to you. They are around you to point you to Christ, and you are around them to do the same.
You may be like ninety percent of America, and that means that this letter might be making you uncomfortable because the idea of actually doing life beyond a shallow conversation with anyone besides your blood family sounds exhausting. Even a relationship with your own family may be complex, and this sounds awful and even terrifying.
Individualism has sunk its teeth into us, and none of us has been left unscathed by it completely. We live in a time and society where we are surrounded by many but not with any. This you do, live your life, go about it alone, is a very modern way of thinking and living, but there's an ancient way, a biblical way, that has a beautiful track record, and you can depend on it.
In the book of Acts, we see the birth of the Christian church and just how seriously they took community. People came gathering from all over the world for the Feast of Weeks, and it was in this place that God decided to fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah and pour out His Spirit, not just to rest for a moment on people, but to fill them and not depart from them. As the mighty works of God were proclaimed through tongues, Peter gave a sermon declaring the victory of Christ and calling for repentance. Through this sermon, 3000 people came to Christ, and the Church was born. From this, we see in Acts Chapter Two that the new believers took on a new lifestyle. They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teachings, to prayer, worship, and breaking bread together as they gathered daily. They realized a life in Christ meant a life together as His body.
Tyler Staton once said, "There's no version of being with Jesus that doesn't stick me with others at the same time." Jesus values friendship; he values community, and from the very beginning, before the fall of man, the plan has always been friendship with each other and friendship with God. God gave Eve to Adam, before sin, before corruption. He didn't need her because the world was a broken place. He said, "It is not good for man to be alone." He did not create humanity to live in isolation. God made Eve with Adam in mind; he made us to require a relationship with others to live a good life. There is no "private" salvation when you come to Christ; there is no "individualistic" election to salvation. God's work through Christ is not intended to casually and quietly save independent and autonomous Christians who will live isolated lives of saintliness. It is about God forming a people, a Bride, who will give witness to his redemption by their words and deeds and cause a sweeping of others to be brought into the same redemptive story.
We are called to love as He has loved us—selflessly, with others in mind. This means laying down our lives, not just in the defensive sense of "I would take a bullet for you," but in a more proactive way. It means saying, "I will lay down my plans for you, I'll clear my schedule to do life with you, I'll dive into Scripture with you, and I'll pray with you when you are struggling." You will be more than a transaction to me, as a servant might see you; you will be my friend. You will know my life, and I will know yours.
Where Do We Go from Here?
There is wisdom to be exchanged, joy to be shared, and kindness to be expressed. We will comfort each other in mourning, celebrate accomplishments, and challenge ideas. There are dreams to be shared and encouraged. Some among us may feel like balloons needing someone to anchor them. We have tears to wipe, testimonies to share, and confessions to be heard. Mothers need to hear "good job," and fathers need to hear "well done." Children need to see what it looks like to be a man or woman of God and to be told that they are fearfully and wonderfully made.
There are dinners to be enjoyed around tables where conversation flows freely, filled with encouragement and building one another up. There are trips to take with friends to marvel at God's creation and to enjoy each other's company. There are concerts to be attended and sporting events to be watched. Our union with Christ gives us the beautiful gift of union with others. Life alone will never be enough for you because you were created for friendship.
So, I encourage you to give it a try. Invite someone over for dinner or out for coffee this week. Start a Bible study at your house. Instead of arriving right when church starts and leaving right after, come early and stay late. You won't be best friends with everyone, but you can walk in love and unity with them as your community, and you will find some deep friendships within it. There will be moments of pain; you may offend someone, or they may offend you. However, it is through these long stretches of relationship that we grow in spiritual maturity. You will develop patience, self-control, love, and kindness for others. With the Holy Spirit, you will spread the gospel through this way of life. There will be times that require bravery to have hard conversations, but remember, conflict is an opportunity to grow closer to someone, and this very community God has placed you in is a beautiful gift to be experienced.
