07.06
Yesterday, I started a new series that we’re calling, Dumb Stuff that Smart Christians Believe. I don’t have time to cover all the ‘dumb stuff’ that we believe on Sundays, so I’ll cover some in the blog over the next few weeks.
Today’s Dumb Idea??? God is All I Need.
It is true that God and His ways are all I need, but we forget the ‘and His ways’ part of that phrase. God designed us to be relational. That’s His way. In Genesis 1, God created man and said “It is NOT good… for man to be alone.” And yet, because we’re rugged, individualist Americans, we tend to think that we can live life without deep connections to people. Not true. God created us to live in community.
On Sunday, I told about my 4th of July Weekend. We spent it in the Georgia mountain community of Ellijay. We joined the Main Street Scavenger Hunt, laughed at the Parade Floats (they were all cheesy), and watched the fireworks celebration. Now if you don’t know, I’m a city boy. I love the city and all it has to offer. But this past weekend, the country town of Ellijay reminded me that God created us to live in community. Ellijay has one high school, so people grow up together. They stop and talk as they stroll through Ace Hardware. They stay in touch with each other, celebrating the good times and helping in the bad. And as I sat on Main Street, getting ready for the fireworks, their 4th of July celebration felt like being on a movie set… very surreal.
I’m sure Ellijay has many problems, but living in community brings advantages:
1. You’re known. You’re not just a number.
2. You know others. You have relationships at many levels.
3. You contribute. You have a meaningful role in the community.
4. You trust. Because you feel safe, it’s easier to trust (a KEY component of faith).
5. You have accountability. If you try to do something that you shouldn’t, someone will find out… quickly.
We often bristle at #5 – everyone knowing our business – but there’s one distinct advantage to that… natural accountability.
God created us in His image. He is relational (Trinity) and He created us to be relational. It’s His way. We need friends who know us, who serve with us, and who love us – warts and all. The New Testament Church lived in community with each other (Acts 2 & 4) because it’s God’s way. And when we move from community to community, church to church, big city to big city, it makes it hard to be connected. Community happens more naturally in small towns. City boys (and girls) like us have to be more intentional about developing it.
If you’re not opening yourself up to a community of believers, we’ll talk about what holds us back later this week. But how about making a commitment to pray during the month of July for a place to belong? Not just a church to attend, but a group where you know and are known.
Now it’s your turn… Join the Discussion. Post a comment and share how you’ve benefited from Christian community.
Cheers. Really, the old TV show comes to mind. A bizarre group of people, much like church! They fought, laughed and cried together. They would hold each other accountable and would gladly fight for each other regardless of personal preferences. They recognized the individual within the group. Key ingredient was forgiveness.