This past week I grabbed coffee with a good friend of mine after attending a Holy Day mass. We chatted for quite awhile about a lot of different things, but the one thing that really stuck with me about our conversation was community. I shared with him that I really struggled with my faith during my first two years of college because it was hard for me to find that community of good Christians and Catholics outside of my normal youth groups. I enjoyed (and still do) being around all of the people in these groups, but I was desiring more. Here in the QC there isn’t much for us college students to keep our faith alive and growing- at least that is what I have experienced. During my freshman and sophomore year of college, I desired community. I was jealous of my friends that had a Newman Center to spend their days at, I was jealous of my friends that found roomates that loved Jesus as much as they did, and I was jealous of my friends that had found clubs on campus that allowed them to grow in their faith. There was a lot of jealousy. Yikes… If I’m going to be real and honest with all of you, I really struggled with this. Towards the end of my sophomore year, I was super motivated to be the best Catholic and the best Christian out there- I was striving for perfection. Long story short, I didn’t have that community I needed, and I got burnt out… fast. Praise Jesus that I have been able to find a really great group of people that has turned into a really great community!!!
After the conversation I had with my friend about the importance of community, I took it to scripture (and google). I found a really great article that talks about how important community really is, and I want to share with you what I learned.
If we look back to creation, we know that God made Adam. Do you ever think about how lonely Adam must have felt? I mean, he was the only human on the planet for a little while. Fast forward to Genesis 2:18 where we hear God saying that it is not good for man to be alone. WOWWW! It is important that we spend time with God alone, but we weren’t made for isolation- we were designed to crave relationship with those around us.
So… what exactly does the bible tell us about community?
1. Community is encouraging. Community allows us to be around people that are all at different stages in their faith journeys, and it allows us to bear other people’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). We also all have something to teach and learn… the article states, “Be a Barnabas (friend), pursue a Paul (teacher), or train a Timothy (student).”
2. Community is fun. When I was in high school, I was always being told that being Christian and being around other Christians is the most boring thing in the world. SIKE!!!! Community should never feel like a burden (Psalm 133:1) and let me tell you, Christians know how to have fun. Some of the greatest times of my life were when I was surrounded by these groups of people, and I think they would agree with me.
3. Community attracts the Holy Spirit. YES YES YES. Matthew 18:20. That’s all I’m gonna say about that one.
4. Community fosters love. 1 Corinthians 13 ends in, “an now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Wowza yessss!! Flip to Colossians 3:13-14. “bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grevance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.” In these two verses, Paul is holding love above everything else. woah. I don’t know about any of you, but being around a great community makes my heart swell with love. I don’t have any other way of putting it…
I pray that all of you find community with one another, and if any of y’all want to grab coffee or something I am SO DOWN!! Let’s grow in community with each other.
-Mackenzie
