This past year has been filled with nothing but COMMUNITY COMMUNITY COMMUNITY! In this season of my life, I feel a tug to cultivate friendships, invest in discipleship, and build intimate spaces for us to do life together. Unfortunately, 2020 has made it the new normal to live life apart. Dinner together has become an event to post on IG or Tik Tok, but church online is now preferred. We cringe at going into the office with our co-workers, and we’ve been forced to swap the family reunion with the family zoom night. Basically, we played our hand with the cards we’ve been dealt the past two years. As we begin to inch our way back to normalcy, I hope that we hold close to what God intended healthy family/friend/and faith relationships to be. Here are three truths I have been so blessed to live in the past few months that I believe will encourage you to choose a close, intimate, and present community again.
“On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’s resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound from Heaven like a roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability.”
Acts 2:1-4
Here is Holy. This is what I have learned, surrounded by people grounded in living a life of faith. Godly community is Holy. There is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit fell on a people who were joined together under their belief in Him. So many times, I chose to focus on my walk and my journey with the Lord alone. Not realizing it gets pretty lonely, there is no accountability, and since the church began, they were never truly alone. Just as the Holy Spirit fell then, He falls today upon communities that draw upon Him because here is Holy.
Community is Contagious. “Then what looked like flame or tounges of fire appeared and settled on each of them.” As you talk with family, friends, and even colleagues, I want you to think about what has settled on you during your time with them. Personally, I am very sensitive to the energy in the room. If I hang around stressed or frustrated people, I tend to carry it, even if I came to encourage them. On the other hand, if I’m around people that are light and full of joy, it feels good. It is the same with the mindsets and purposefulness of your community. If your circle is going full force after God, you will begin to desire a deeper walk with Him. Versus if they’re going in the opposite direction. The tounges of fire fell upon each individual, but they were in the right place and time, with the right focus in mind. Where has your community placed you?
“And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”
Act 2: 44-47
Community has a blueprint. Acts and the Gospels spell out what community is. Since social media has changed the dynamic of relationships, it is easy to settle for surface-level relationships and call it community. But according to community God’s way, community has a blueprint. Community is intimate. Community is accessibility. Community is communion. Community is accountability. Community is giving. Community is welcoming. The vast sea of people you attend church with is not your community, but you can find your community there. It’s not your social media following. It’s not your work best friend. Your community is the people who push and hold you up towards deeper fellowship with the Lord, who you can share your struggles with (they won’t judge you, but they will hold you accountable), the people you can call when you have an emergency or a need, and those who support you in celebration and in grief. This is community. It is so vital that God made community one of the foundational pillars of the church. Could it be that the church moves in such little power and love because we lack unity and communion with one another?
This was a much longer post than I intended, but there was a phase in my life where finding Jesus radically changed my life, and now finding community is radically changing my life all over again. I believe God wants us to have a whole experience and not the just portion of what he has for us when we put our faith in Him. So grateful for my close friends, Wave’s community, and family. They have been so essential to my growth and staying the course.
Leave a Reply