Community August 20th, 2023
Gracious God, open our minds to understanding, teach our hearts to love, and strengthen our wills to carry out the mission of your Word. Amen.
The redwood trees of northern California are huge. Some of them are over 300 feet high and have lived over 2500 years. So, you think that with trees so large, they’d have a tremendous root system, reaching down hundreds of feet into the earth. But that’s not the case, they actually have a very shallow root system. The roots of these trees are, however, intertwined. They are tied in with each other; interlocked. Thus, when the storms come, and the winds blow, the redwoods still stand. With an interlocking root system, they support and sustain each other. They need one another to survive.
And so do we! The closer we stand in community, the more we will be able to hold up. Throughout our lives, and especially during tough times, God wishes to strengthen and empower us through our community. He expects us to support each other during the storms of life. That is why we need to be an active part of our community. We need others and they need us.
And today I want to share with you some thoughts on God and community. God is not only the creator of the universe, but also the father of a family. He has called us to be his children, and to live in harmony with one another. He has given us his commandments, his word, and his Spirit, to guide us in our relationships. He has also given us his church to support us, to encourage us, and to challenge us.
And belonging to a community is not an optional part of our Christian life. It is essential for our growth, our maturity, and our witness. We need each other, as the members of a body need each other. We need to love one another, as God has loved us. We need to serve one another, as Christ has served us. We need to forgive one another, as God has forgiven us. We need to bear one another's burdens, as the Holy Spirit helps us.
But community is not always easy. It requires commitment, sacrifice, and humility. It requires patience, kindness, and gentleness. It requires honesty, trust, and accountability. It requires grace, mercy, and peace. It requires us to think less of ourselves, and to live for God and others.
That is why we need God's help. We cannot build community on our own strength or wisdom. We need God's grace and power. We need God's presence and blessing. We need God's vision and purpose.
In our lives we all have two desires, to love and be loved. Community should provide that. We are all the same, just at different stages in our life’s journey, but all the same none the less. We are all looking to be loved, not for who someone wants us to be, but for who we are. Community is a place where someone can wrap their arm around you, share in your hurts, and lift you above defeat.
In the Bible, one of the apostles, Paul, wrote this about us all being members of one body, “… But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26) This is an important aspect of community. First of all, since we are connected like a body, we need to function together; that’s community. Secondly, community involves each individual being valued for who they are and being allowed to play their God-designed role. Community exists when members of the community all contribute their part to the working of the whole. We need to be there for our families and friends. Just being together isn’t enough. We need to build up and assist each other. We need to be there through the difficult times we all face. God didn’t promise us a life without difficulty, but he did promise to be there for us through the good times and the bad.
And God has given us all different gifts to use to help build and support our community. Once again, these are the words of Paul, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body, we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us...” (Romans 12:3-6) And we’re to use our individual gifts, not for our own gain, but to build up the community around us.
So, in summary here are what are the essentials of a community:
- God exists in community. God the Father, Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit are here in our community. They are here with us.
- We were created to exist in community with God. This is why God created you and me in his likeness. He didn’t create the stars and galaxies to be in community with him. He didn’t create the oceans or the fish to be in community with him. His image is in us, only us, only humans, so that we could have community with him. The one purpose for which you and I were created was to be in community with God; to know Him, to love Him, and enjoy Him.
- Community can be difficult. The thing about real community is that it isn’t automatic. It doesn’t just happen. You can’t just throw people together and have ‘instant community.’ Just showing up at church doesn’t guarantee you will experience community. We don’t always value everyone and don’t always let them play their role. And we certainly don’t always relate to one another in love. That’s why community can be difficult.
- Common purposes create community. A community is built when a group of people are united around a common purpose. In healthy places of community, the individual is valued, but the community values something larger than the individual. We encourage one another, especially our children, who need our support. Suddenly, we are no longer so concerned about ourselves that we can’t see the collective good. And when we all look to Christ and his mission as the most important thing, we find ourselves united in a common cause. We find community.
- Isolation kills community. One of the remarkably noticeable things about our society is our growing isolation. We live isolated lives. This is reflected in the makeup of our communities. No one drops by, no one is out walking. You can be surrounded by people all day but never actually talk to one. With the advent of electronic devices, while often useful, can progressively make us more isolated. How many of your neighbors do you actually know?
The other thing that fuels our isolation is our busyness. The truth is, we don’t have the time or energy to talk with people even if we did encounter them. We’d be stressed out, not relieved, if someone stopped by unannounced – it would mess up our schedules. It’s ironic that the busier we have become, the lonelier we have become.
Throughout history God has used his community of faith to do some powerful things in the lives of countless believers. And God’s plan hasn’t changed. He still wishes to use his Church to do some powerful things in our lives. A community of faith is absolutely crucial to our spiritual well-being. Through it, God wishes that we find strength for the journey, that we minister to others in the community and that we all work together to support and build one another up in the faith.
As we face the inevitable trials, troubles, and tragedies of life here on earth, God intends that we be supported, strengthened, encouraged, and empowered through the community of believers. As we face the storms and temptations of life, we should receive strength from each other. Such is God’s plan.
In Christ we are a community of faith, a special place where we can minister and be ministered to. We need each other. Therefore, the community of faith needs to be a priority in our lives. The truth is, we need each other. We need to trust, rely on, and depend upon other believers. God gave us each other to walk alongside, encourage, and spur one another one in the faith. The writer of the Book of Hebrews says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, we ask for your blessings on this community and all who live, work, or visit here. So, let us pray today that God would renew our hearts and minds. That he would fill us with his love and joy. That he would unite us in his spirit and truth. That he would use us for his glory and to bring others to be part of his family. Help us to be a place of welcome, warmth and hope. Help us to continue to grow in our love for one another as we strive to make our community not just a place to live, but a home for all. Amen