River of life lesson: We are not made to be alone.

Today begins a series of posts I plan to write expounding on community.  We happen to attend a church with a small group structure. Hence, we are not program driven. We only meet corporately on Sunday  morning to celebrate and learn together. But the remainder of time we are to flesh out our walk with others through the community of believers we are walking through life with.

But what exactly is community? What does it look like? How does it feel? These series of posts will share my heart on this idea of community.

God has never been alone. Since creation in the first chapter of Genesis God has always been in community with the two other parts of His being...the Spirit and his Son.  In Genesis 1:2 the word says the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Again in verse 26 of the same chapter, God says,  "Let  us make man in our image.." In John chapter one we see that "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.(John1:14)...that  'He' is who we know as Jesus.

Because God has never been alone and we are made in His image, I believe it is His desire that we are never alone as well. Yes, we always have His presence with us as believers but after his ascension, he was clear that we are to walk together through life through intimate relationships with other people who call us to greatness, hold us accountable, love us unconditionally, and stick through life, no matter what the circumstances, to hold up our arms in the life battles we constantly face.

There are many passages to support this way of thinking but two of my favorite are:Galatians 6:2 "Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ". "Carry" in this passage is synonymous  with "support". Again in Hebrews 10:24-25, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another...."


When we choose to walk alone through life, we are placing ourselves in a place of vulnerability to attack.  It makes it easy to fall into wrong thinking which makes us prey to a victim mentality, and a 'whoa is me' mindset. We miss receiving the blessing of others or being a blessing to those in need. It is a selfish and self centered mindset.

However, community is a foreign concept to most. Society has taught the cultural norm that it is weak and immature to admit any weaknesses or share your struggle. But this is directly contrary to God's instruction to us to meet together, spur one another on and share one another's burdens.

In future posts, there will be practical ways we explore to further understand community. But for today, at least consider the command to walk through life in relationship with God and others. If you are already walking in community, ask God who can you bless today or look for who is a blessing to you. Then tell them how much they meant to you. It is so encouraging.