The Church as a Community

I am beginning to wonder if I and others have lost the idea of community. We live in such an isolated society, that it is easily done. The church is to be a community of believers, and you see how tight of a community they were in the book of Acts. It is difficult to let others get close enough to us and to force ourselves to get close enough to others to build the community we are called to have. However, if we follow the different responsibilities laid out in scripture we must open up and reach out. There are a lot of lonely people surrounded by people in our communities. There are apartment complexes where thousands of people live, and you can live there and not know a single other person. You can live in the same gated community and never spend time with one another. We have to be careful not to let this mind creep into the church. Can people come into our worship and sit down, surrounded by people and leave never really having any contact or relationship with others there? How often do we put up walls keeping people from getting to know us deeply? The church is a place where we come to be one, to build and hold one another up. It is a shared responsibility we all have.

Blasted Gourds

Blasted Gourds is a phrase I borrowed from a John Newton Hymn. It refers to chapter 4 of the book of Jonah. God destroyed the gourd plant that brought Jonah pleasure, and Jonah complained. The Gourd plant symbolizes the things that we take great pleasure in, forgetting that they are gifts from God, and losing sight of God's will because we are wrapped up in them. Jonah needed it removed in order for his heart to be right before God. So too I find that I have things in my life that God rightfully blasts to make me more obedient to and dependant on Him.