Today we live in a world that is void of community. We can easily go from one social arena to another without experiencing community. It is easy to live a life that is blind to the relational desires that God put in our being. Jesus came so that we could have a personal relationship with him, but he stayed on earth for 33 years so that we could have a personal encounter with him. In today’s world we have lost the community that Jesus came to earth to build. Our days can be lost within a stale routine. Within this life we were made for more than the things we do to fill our time.
We have to find the joy of our lives in the little things that we do. God you say that you will meet us where we are at? Not only is that the broken state of our lives, but isn’t that the places we found ourselves in, our routine, the community that we are in. You are not a God that plays in a church, but a God that plays in the world that you created. You designed a playground for us. You are the God of play and creativity and imagination. Within our lives God is present. We serve an omnipresent God. Why can’t we find God in the smile of a stranger? In the beauty of you commute to work? God created these moments. God is in these moments.
It is when we recognize the existence of God in the mundane moments of your lives that we are able to fully realize the world that Christ created. We can’t understand the creation without understanding the purpose of the creator. God put purpose in the things that we deem purposeless. He is the God of life in these moments; who are we to take that life away from those moments? Who are we to disregard the holy spirit at work in our lives?
God put us into community so that we could see him through other people and let other people’s lives be a testimony to what Jesus can do. We can’t live in true community without finding joy in God’s creation or God’s people. When we understand that God is in every aspect of our day and that God created every opportunity for his purpose, than we are able to understand why living in community is important. God created community so that we could find him in his creation.
To best understand the art you must know the artist.
To best understand people you must understand God.
To best love God you must live with the people that he created.
Our God is a relational God. He wants us to be with each other. He wants us to care for each other. What is life or an experience if it is not shared with another person? The significance of an event is diminished if it is not with another person. God designed us this way. He made community a natural desire within us. We yearn to be known and to know others. We are not complacent with only ourselves. No man is an island. The most unhappy people I know are also the most selfish people I know. We were made to care for one another. Jesus came on this earth not so that he could enjoy himself and see what the human flesh had to offer. Jesus came on this earth so that he could have relationship with the people around him, so that he could give them the ultimate gift of salvation. Salvation was not a self-righteous act. If the God that we serve life’s work was a selfless act, doesn’t that say something about the way that we should be living? Shouldn’t then our life work be selfless?
Practically this is a very difficult question to answer. How do we function in community in a way that reflects Jesus to those around us? How as a body, a group, a community of people do we reflect the message of Jesus? What actions show love or self-sacrifice? Do our soy latte, blue tooth, reality television world really capture the community and love that Jesus demonstrated to us?
What this comes down to for me personally is that I don’t know where God is going to take me and I don’t know in what ways I should live my life. It has to be more than being a good person. If my God is a God of awesome power and compassion for people, is the lifestyle that I am living doing that justice? What does that life style even look like? How should I live in response to God’s unfailing love and desire for his creation to live in compassion for one another?
1 comment:
Megan,
I really love what you wrote! I know you sent this to me during finals week, and I read it then just never got the chance (and forgot) to tell you! It is so true that we need others and community, and sometimes neglecting it is selfishness (certainly something I struggle from!) Godly community isn't necessarily just "hanging out" with others, but lifting each other up with encouragement and helping one another grow closer to Christ. I love what you wrote about finding God through strangers. Sometimes God shows Himself in the most unpredictable ways. Thanks for sending this to me, definately relevant for the summer!
Emily
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