Devotion: Community
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28
As I was preparing to retire, much of my reading focused on replacing the income my salary had provided. But one article highlighted the importance of also replacing these key benefits of having a job and a workplace: purpose, structure and community.
My first weeks of retirement were lovely – unscheduled, mostly solitary days during which I accomplished only the most essential of household chores. But I tired of these too-lazy days quickly and found that I missed having structure, purpose – and most of all – community. Ask any retiree what they miss about the job and it’s always the people and the relationships. I missed my daytime family. So I put myself to work cultivating a new daytime community.
God means for us to live in community. In the Old Testament, He gave Adam a companion, focused six of the Ten Commandments on relationships and filled the book of Proverbs with practical wisdom on getting along with others. In the New Testament, Jesus called disciples to join him in his work, promises to show up whenever two or three are gathered in his name, and tells us loving our neighbor is like loving God.
Community is essential for living out our Christian faith. As we seek to become more Christ-like, it’s where we manifest the Fruits of the Spirit: where we show love, share joy and peace, and practice patience, kindness, generosity, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. It’s where we learn to forgive, enjoy our differences, and place the needs of others before our own – where, as Jesus said, we become servants of each other, both giving and receiving the blessings of relationships.
Community takes effort. Like anything we value, we must make time for it and be committed to it. Investing in our church community is a great place to start: Attend worship every week unless you’re ill or out of town. Come early for worship or stay after to socialize. Add Wednesdays at the Well to your week – share the meal and stack the chairs afterwards. Sign up for one of the many volunteer jobs or teams at church – the work is rarely hard and you’ll meet great people who will come to care about you and vice versa. Make plans to get together with church members to share coffee or enjoy a shared interest.
Through community, we grow closer to God by growing closer to each other. Allow God to bless you in this way: show up and take part.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Thank you for the gift of community, for what you enable us to give to others, for what we receive from them as they also answer your call to serve. Thank you for being with us whenever we gather in your name. Amen.
written by Cheryl Stubbendieck