1 Corinthians 1:10- I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you are perfectly united in mind and thought.
Jesus Christ should be the foundation, the center, of our relationships. Christianity should reflect a community through Jesus and in Jesus. A Christian by definition is a person who no longer seeks his own salvation, deliverance, or justification in himself, but in JESUS! Jesus should be the cornerstone of our relationships- this is the theme of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book “Life Together.”
Ephesians 2:14- For He Himself (Jesus) is out peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
Over the past several months, during the past 8 months I have been blessed with a community that has shown me true fellowship- how I believe the Lord designed true Christian Fellowship. Many of my pervious blogs have centered around finding contentment. We all look for contentment in something and many of us are guilty of placing out contentment in a community.
“He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter.” – Bonhoeffer
God wired us for relationships, In Genesis 2:18 The Lord says- “It isn’t good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.” It is not wrong to long for relationships, we were not created to be alone; however, we often our own “human wish dream” for the community. When we create these visionary “wish dreams” we enter into the community looking for something, other than Christ, to fulfill our loneliness- “We are looking for an extraordinary social experience bringing muddled, impure desires to the Christian brotherhood.”- Bonhoeffer
So often I find myself discouraged and unsatisfied because my community is not as I imagined. I have not found what I was looking for. Lets be real, we all look for new friends, a relationship, or some kind of recognition. I will be the first to admit I am guilty of this! In the past, I served because I was expecting some kind of reward. Although I was serving, my heart was not seeking the Lord, deep down I was more concerned with what I would gain in return for my service.
Matthew 6:33-34- But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The Lord tells us to seek Him and Him alone. When we allow our selfish desires- our “wish dream”- to become our primary focus, we will never find contentment. This is because; no human relationship or earthly possession will ever live up to our “visionary dream.” My selfishness will not only harm myself, but it will also become a hindrance to the community the Lord has provided. I can destroy my community if I love the dream of a community more than the actual community itself.
Looking back on my past, I can see how chasing after my “visionary community” has led me to bitterness and how I slowly become alienated from the people that God put in my life for fellowship. I should praise Jesus for providing a community, no matter what the size or location- when I complain or grow bitter because the community Is not as I envisioned, then I hinder the Lord from growing that fellowship! If I am honest, my love towards others was really for my own sake- it was “human love.” The love God designed for a Christian community is not a human love, but a spiritual one. Spiritual love loves another for Christ’s sake and not our own.
The Lord has a specific reason for placing us where we are, not meaning that your relationships/communities should and will not ever change- but while we are in one, we need to be fully invested, not for our sake- but for HIS! The Lord has a reason and a plan that we cannot even imagine.
1 Corinthians 2:9
However, as it is written:“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
