Luke 11: 2 "Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."
The more I read the Bible the more I realize that we are to be in "community" - that there is real power in the entire body of believers. From the "least" to the "greatest" - which of course is only defined through our eyes anyway! Isolation is a common train of thought for the one who is seeking God with everything they've got as they feel like they must leave the less-inclined behind them. Reluctantly, of course, wishing that some would desire to travel the path with them, but recognizing that in some sense, the deeper you go the fewer there are with you. For the true saint, they won't feel a Pharisaical arrogance about this, but a sense of loss and humility that God is drawing them deeper into Him.
We were built for community and in fellowship we do grow deeper, but that may mean humbly accepting people who you don't feel are totally "with" you or "get it" like you do. Can you imagine the frustration of Jesus? Every time He wants to talk spiritually His disciples take Him literally. Bread, water, being born-again, the Temple, eating His flesh and drinking His blood. He desires to be able to commune with them on a deep spiritual level but their minds are stuck in the physical world.
But He sticks with them, and even finds fellowship with them, because He knows the value of a body of believers, of community. So while He may cry out once in awhile, "O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? (Matt. 17:17)," He never gives up on the desire to gather us like sheep without a shepherd and form us into His community.
Therefore, the prayer that He gives us is a communal prayer. Everything is about the body: "Forgive us our sins." "Give us our bread." Lead us not into temptation." American Christianity tends toward isolation and individualism and therefore by self-advancement. What can this church bring to me? Worship must be done in a way that is pleasing to me. I will give if I can see something that will fall back into my lap, bringing me health or some sort of material advancement. If I can't see how it affects me personally, I won't get involved. And if my needs are not being met to my personal satisfaction, I will go to Church X down the street because ultimately it is about me and not any particular body of believers.
This is inherently immature and it defines American Christianity. As the true follower of Christ gets deeper into Him, he may find himself becoming a little disconnected from those who aren't coming in as deep with him, but he will gain a greater sense of the value of the rest of the body, and that if the entire body doesn't advance, the Kingdom really isn't advancing as powerfully as it should.
2 comments:
good thoughts. hows it going? as far as the community of believers, you're right, it is an essential part of our faith. its one of many parts i think. we live by one faith, but in it God has given us many avenues to express our faith. (its just a thought, not sure if im biblically sound). like the husband/ wife relationship, our own personal obligations (reading scripture, praying, meditating. etc.), how we treat those not in the body of believers, those who are just living for themselves, all of this and more, including the fellowship of believers are parts of this new life we live unto Christ. when you talk about accepting those who might not be on the same page as you, or picking a church so that it fulfills your own needs, again i agree. that stuff is foolishness. just like in those others areas of our faith, the community value comes down to selflessness. is that not the essence of our faith? didnt Jesus give up everything of himself for our sake, not expecting anything in return but hoping that we would accept him? didnt God do the same in sending his son, putting together this most incredible plan, and for us! while we were still living in ignorance, just to hope that we would take our part in his plan, to love Him. its always been about putting others first, putting God first. about loving unconditionally. those in the community of believers need to understand this most, and start living it. how else will the world see Christ in us. if we dont put Him on display, if we are still living for ourselves, its no different. the worlds way is self first. Gods way is God first, and it works that way! way better then putting ourselves first. in everything, how we approach fellow believers, how we take part in our churches, relationships with spouses, family, friends, how we meet the world; its vital to be dead to ourselves but alive to God. its the only way any of it works as it should, im convinced.
Hey Tom,
I think many of us are tracking along these same lines. The difficulty is our cultural lense which we have been brought up with, the modern, individual idea of self, which leads to a community - of selfs rather than of unity and communion. William Plackard said, "In the ancient world the individual goal was to be found in the mind of God, in the modernistic view we try to find a place for God in our minds." Insightful words my friend, hopefully we can talk more soon.
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