For the past 3 days, I’ve been laying in my bed, laying on a couch, or pretty much just being completely useless. I have a really bad cold that has been going around the squad one person at a time. Because our ministry is mainly based on kids this month at KIM, Kids International Ministries, I cannot go out and help for fear that I might get the kids sick. But I didn’t come all this way just to watch everybody else do it. However, if I’ve learned anything its that there is a lesson in every trial we go through.
I’ll pose this question now, is community worth it? Is community worth investing my time and my heart in? Every time I get a headache, 30 people ask me if they can help. 30 people give me suggestions on how to make it go away. Then later, when the 30 people come back, I have to tell them one at a time how I am now doing. Even though I come from a big family this kind of communication is tiresome for me. But, if I want be a part of this cooperative spirit then I need to embrace all the voices.
If we are all the body of Christ then we need to be able to communicate openly and freely. To be a part of my community I must be willing to put in what I want to receive. Since I am expecting people to be open and honest with me, what then should I do? Well, I’ve tried just about every solution but the right one. The antonym of community is isolation. It’s kind of impossible to physically be alone while on the race, but there are other types of isolation. You can isolate your heart, mask your emotions, and hide how you are really doing. Sometimes it easier to lie about how you’re feeling so that you don’t have to talk about it.
Think of the community of God as a fire. We are all branches burning together to make a big and beautiful flame, but the more you try to do things yourself and keep to yourself your branch falls from the fire and become lifeless and cold. I’m guilty. I’ll admit it. We’re not meant to be alone, we are meant to be a family. I must lead with vulnerability if I want my teammates to be vulnerable with me. We cannot be a healthy team while being closed off from each other.
What I sometimes forget is that we are living for the God of the trials. I want him to be just the God of miracles. I want walls to crumble before me, wet altars to burst into flame, and giants to fall. But I forget that Joshua had to walk around that wall for 6 days, Elijah waited through 3 years of drought, and David went into battle against a giant…need I say more?
So the answer to my question has to be yes. It is totally worth investing my time in this community of Jesus followers. It’s not just a shallow Sunday morning “how are you?”. When my squad asks me how I am doing I know they each and everyone want to know what I’m feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They want me to be better and what to know if they can personally make that happen.
Take down your walls of defense and be open with your community. In the kingdom of God there are no outsiders, so do a test run this week and see how it goes. Take that weird first step and open up to someone you trust. I don’t want this to just be a one-way conversation, let me know your experiences. I’m still just laying upstairs staring at a gecko on the wall by my bed…
