hi! as promised, I’m going to share with you about the community that I’m living in right now! and I’m really excited about it! so what is it actually like to live in community all the time? well to answer that, let’s first talk about what community is 🙂 according to Merraim Webster, community is a unified group of individuals living in the same place, sharing the same interests
so what is it like to let live in that definition? To give the short answer, community here looks a lot like community that’s described in Hebrews 10:24-25, which says, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” this type of community is truly the biggest blessing, but one of the hardest to receive.
maybe that’s because it’s not like anything I’ve experienced before. of course, we have our families, we have our friend groups, and a lot of us are involved in some other organized groups or clubs. but what is it like to live 24/7 in a community of people who aren’t the same type of person, but who were called to the same place, at the same time, by the same God?
it’s not really about our same interests, after all, there are some people on my squad who know how to play more card games than I even knew existed. there are people who get up early and go on a run while the rest of us stay in our tents. there are people who can play the guitar for hours on end, and others who don’t even know how many strings a guitar has. there are some of us who value alone time, and treat it like gold when it comes, and still there are others who won’t leave a group until quiet time is enforced.
this community isn’t about liking the same things, it’s about having the same love. the band kids, the athletes, and the artists all gather together, not because we have the same hobbies or interests. we’re bound together in unity because our unity is rooted in Christ, who surpasses all that could connect us here on earth. we don’t always enjoy doing the same things, but we love the same God, and more importantly, loved by the same God. the God who gives us a community of unity.
constant community means the people who see you at your best are the very same people who see you at your worst. the friends you sometimes disagree with are the same friends you get to worship beside. the ones who you get to borrow clothes from are the same ones that wear your clothes for three days in a row. the teammates who make you laugh so hard that you have to sprint to the porta potty, are the same teammates that wait (sometimes a long time) for you to finish using it, before they can go in. the people who give you their jacket when you’re cold are the same people who lose your ponytail holders. The ones who you just met are the same ones who become your biggest cheerleaders. and the community that knows the best, most happy things about you, are also the ones who give you tissues to wipe your tears after you share the hardest things.
community means sacrificing alone time, sometimes giving up personal space, occasionally being woken up from a nap by your friends practicing their spanish, and every now and then, giving away the last of your favorite snack. But it also means receiving the best hugs, laughing until tears start falling, sharing everything from toothpaste to sweaters, and being loved even when you cry about things you never planned to think about again.
it means living with the body of Christ, where not everything is required of you. in fact, it’s literally not in our power for everything to come from one individual. there are days when our role in obedience to the Father means being the loudest voice. there are days when it means encouraging the one whose tears cloud their view of truth. there are days when it means cheering on the one who reaches a fundraising goal. there are days when it means sitting alone, interceding for the one who got taken to urgent care. and there are days when it means allowing others to walk with you when you feel the most alone.
and that’s the church. acts 2:42-47. the community of Christ is something I don’t ever want to give up. thanks God for this life.
