Community Necessity By Beth Collins
“Leave. Me. Alone!”
Emphatic. Direct. Emotional.
If people only knew how often those words bounce around the intricate folds of our minds. Our children incessantly say the word “Mom,” seriously, though!
People at work always asking for favours or interrupting our productivity. Texts and emails when we are on vacation. My husband sometimes says that he is impressed with my verbal restraint in situations that are, shall we say, less than favourable.
My response is usually, “If only you knew the things I am choosing not to say, you would be really impressed!”
But sometimes, on occasion, in those moments of weakness, the words escape. They sneak past our lips, those gleaming guardians of good manners, and bang down the audio canals of our listeners. “Leave me alone!”, or, “I just want to be alone!” And I guess if that’s all we say, it’s a bonus.
But let’s settle in there for a moment on the content of that particular thought. Of being alone, actually. Because when you brush past the knee-jerk exclamation and look at it, you are led into a profound discussion of something deeply human. And deeply Godly. To be alone is not God’s plan. Put another way, and we will never become who we were created to become without being in community.
For intentional moments, yes; for purposeful retreats from regular human activity and contact, being alone can be quite healthy. Jesus did that. He can often be seen wandering out to the mountain by himself to pray and reflect. That is a good thing, but make sure to see that he always comes back.
Jesus always returned to the disciples, the crowd, the clingers-on, and the committed. Jesus always got back into the mix of community to continue the work the Father had planned. Always! Community is God’s plan! It is his plan because community is a part of the very nature of God, and so, to discover and recover true community is a part of being restored to the image of God. Well, that’s heavy! What??
"We will never become who we were created to become without being in community."
Have you ever gone on a solo trip? I have. I remember traveling through a beautiful part of the countryside. The view was spectacular, with mountain vistas and rolling hedges of green waving from the surrounding forests. Wild flowers dotted the spaces, and the whole thing just made me stop and take a breath.
It was beautiful. And yet, I had the very real thought that I wished I could share that view with someone. Is that weird? I mean it wouldn’t have made the view any more awe-inspiring. The colors would have been the same. The mountains would have still stretched to the same height, but there is something divinely enriching about sharing moments like those with someone else.
A friend, a partner, a group on a tour bus! Sharing life’s views is enriched by sharing life’s experiences with someone else. This is so because we have been created in God’s image, and, at the core of God’s character, his essence, we find that thing called community!
Take a look at Genesis 1. The whole chapter is amazing in revealing God’s pattern and purpose in creation, but slide down to verse 26 and listen. “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule…” Then Vs. 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What do you see here?
I mean it’s fantastic! Here’s the thing. Community is one of the first things that God reveals about himself in the Bible. Really. Let US create. In OUR image. In OUR likeness. Let THEM rule. Humanity is created in the image of God. Male and Female. Look at the implication here.
In God’s model of creation, the one male does not display the image of God. The one female does not display the image of God. Rather, it’s the two together, the community of created humanity which displays the image of God.
In this passage, it’s “them” together as the demonstration of his nature and purpose. This concept pervades the entire Bible when you look for it. God’s story is rolled out in the context of community. Who is God? He is a Holy Trinity! What is the Trinity? The Trinity is community! Not three different God’s trying to work together to get along. Rather, we see a Trinity of oneness, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Three persons that are so one in desire, one in love, one in purpose, one in spirit, one in essence, one in will, that they are One God in Three Persons. The Trinity. And that is in the opening statement of the Bible. It must be important. God. Is. Community. Therefore, to find ourselves growing in His likeness and restored to His image, we must find ourselves involved in and embraced by godly community.
And at first, I’m thinking, “Wow, that’s great!” And then, after a moment’s consideration, I think, “Oh… well, that’s actually really hard.” Community is not easy, friends. My husband and I traveled with a singing group for six weeks one summer. For those six weeks, our community consisted of 6 people in an extended Econoline van. We ate together, slept on each other’s shoulders, worked together, prayed together, and performed together.
Sounds great right? However, we also argued together, grew frustrated with each other, jabbered in conversation, and, at times, got tired of seeing each other’s faces. I vividly remember a shoe flying across the van in the course of one heated exchange. Still, sound great? Being in that community or any community on this side of eternity is supremely hard. Being in that community or any community on this side of eternity is supremely rewarding!
Being in godly community on this side of eternity is an absolute, nonnegotiable must! Being in community with God’s people on the journey toward maturity is to grow in the very image of God! God is community!
As hard as that summer was in the van, I would not give back that experience if even I could. It was messy, and it was difficult. It was powerful and profound, and it literally shaped my life toward God’s image. I grew closer to God and more mature in myself by that hard experience of community than I ever did on my own.
That is how community works in this fallen world; that is how we learn about ourselves and God; that is how we grow in grace, and that is how we move out of the silly individualism of our society and become more shaped to the image of the creator. We can’t do it on our own. We really can’t. But what is Christian community? What is this fellowship that shapes our hearts towards God?
Let’s start here. Transformational community is not defined by having potlucks together. It’s not defined by having great games nights or going on excursions or gaining a group of friends to hang out with. It is not defined by being a faithful attendee to worship services with the same people week after week.
Can I say something? Will you let it settle in your hearts? Transformational community is a group of people working together to know God in the midst of the chaos of life, but God is the first focus, not the chaos. Transformational community is a spirit fuelled connectedness to each other through a grace-motivated connection with God.
The church community has a very social aspect; there are potlucks, games nights, and services. But those things cannot be the focus or motivation. The focus and motivation of transformational community must be on Oneness with God together. Because if that is the first focus, then we will not quit when the going gets tough.
We will not tear each other down when our feelings get hurt. We will not lose our minds when the music is too loud. You get the picture. To be sure, our feelings will get hurt because – we are saved and are being saved. We are on a journey toward wholeness, but we have a lot of brokenness in our suitcases.
We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, yet we are all working out our salvation with fear and trembling. What a journey! What a difficult task! What a rewarding calling! And what are the results of forming and being involved in a transformational community? They are profound.
The result is nothing less than Jesus himself being glorified and proven to be God’s heaven-sent son. Really. It’s a topic for a whole article itself, but let me refer you to the Gospel of John, to Jesus’ final great prayer before the crucifixion. Listen, “My prayer is not for them alone (the disciples).
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message (you and me)” What was his prayer? “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us SO THAT the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20 – 21) What is the evidence that Jesus came from God?
These are His words, not mine. The evidence that Jesus is God’s son, that he rose from the dead, that he does indeed reign at the right hand of the Father, and that he is who he said he is. We all are ONE together. One together with God and one together with each other. That is true community, and true community is what proves that Jesus is God.
I am speechless!
Throw out any weak, self-focused conception you have held regarding being in a community of faith. Embrace God’s vision and God’s calling to be changed and shaped into his likeness through that community and bring glory to God! Community is part of the essence of God.
We are created in God’s image, therefore to discover and recover true community is a core part of being restored to the image of God. Is that amazing?
We will fail, win, fall, and stand because we are God’s children growing into God’s sons and daughters. But we must push on and pursue God in community, so that He may be glorified and that the world may believe.
My friends, let the shoes fly across the vans. Let the work begin. Let our focus shift from the chaos to the creator, and let transformation have its way in your life.
Jesus always came back to the community. So must we.
