I can’t tell you how many conversations I have where the people I’m conversing with tell me how important community is to them. The longer and deeper we talk, the…
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She hooked my arm and pulled me off to the side. “How are you?”
For a brief moment I contemplated generically saying, “Good, how are you?” simply so I could get on with my day. But this voice at the back of my mind told me this time it had to be different.
If I want anything to change about the way I do community, then I have to be willing to step out and lead.
So I went for it.
The whole Robin Williams thing has taken the Internet by storm, but it’s not just a Robin Williams thing. Depression is an on-going battle for many people.
It could be your neighbour.
It could be a family member.
It could be a newcomer sitting right next to you in church this coming Sunday morning.
It could be you.
If we are to be the type of community the Bible asks us to be – which is the body of Christ – then this topic affects us all. If we are to be the type of Christians Jesus requires of us, then we must lose all forms of judgment and be His hands extended – hands that are full of grace, and mercy, and love, and gentleness, and kindness, and goodness.
We must not let the hype of this topic rise and fall with Robin Williams.
Every day for the past two weeks a soccer camp has been training behind my house. My brain has not stopped thinking about the concept of “being a team.”
We can go anywhere, be anyone, and do anything.
There are many games in life to be played, many prizes to be won, and if we aren’t careful, it can be all too easy to get caught up in the “winning is everything” mentality.
But what does it mean to live as a team?
We must choose wisely the people we run with.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about the idea of community.
What does it mean?
How do you find it?
Can it easily happen?
I’ve come to discover that it looks an awful lot like marrying the right person: “When you know, you know.”
There was a time when I didn’t feel community was important.
The thought of admitting weakness struck a fear of being judged. But, experience has taught me that these kinds of thoughts only lead to isolation from the very people who help carry you through.
Haven’t we ALL fallen short of the glory of God? So why not confess to one another so we can all live in freedom?
From a young age we are taught to impress people while striving for perfection. Humility in admitting imperfection is regarded as weakness. But if more people started to be truly honest with each other we’d realize that we’re all in the same place.
No one is perfect.
None of us can do it alone.
There is power in belonging to a community.
We need each other. We need to be real. We need to encourage one another. We need to inspire each other to be better, and to feel like we aren’t alone. We need to take off the masks and let others see the true us.
My job is to love God, love others, then lovingly lead people to the grace of Jesus. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect at this, but this is how I truly want to love. So I’ve decided to love more, and judge less.
Every so often my boys and I get our national geographic on and watch nature shows. Yesterday we watched a documentary about birds. What fascinated me was the way they flew, their artistic formation – it was their togetherness that was beautiful.
The brilliance of the flying V was because each bird played a roll; they fell in line, they led a part, they held a position so that together a beautiful protective shape was formed and displayed for all to see.
Who knew birds could be such an inspiring community.
It’s usually right around now where the hype of a “new year, new you” hits a major rut. Inspiration has disappeared, monotony has set in and discipline is so UNappealing….
