Community compelled by love

I love the body of Christ. I love his church. I value and enjoy the many friends that I have made over decades in a number of different church communities. Some of these deep friendships I continue to enjoy today. These are the lifeblood of my life. As much as I savour the rich reward of deep friendships my concern is that friendship and community is being eroded and lost in the body of Christ. The bedrock of church community is covenant. The church is wonderfully constructed as God knits together the hearts and lives of different individuals.

There is a particular evil that I believe God wants to deal with in his church. It is a pernicious and prevalent idol and it is the enemy of true Biblical community. It is the idol of individualism. It is the idol of ME. We live in a world of nano seconds and instant communication. This is the Facebook, Twitter, web generation. This is a world where hundreds of varieties of coffee can be specifically chosen from a huge number of options. Skinny or full cream, decaf or double shot, expresso or cappuccino, latte or macchiato, whatever you fancy, you will be satisfied. It is the world in which even our technical gadgets speak pointedly about ourselves. This is the world of the “I phone”, “I pad” and “personal computer.”

This is the world in which every blogger has an opinion, and we are told that all opinions are equally valid and deserve equal consideration. This is a world in which relationships are treated as casually as coffee choices. A world where friendships are formed and discarded on whims. A world where men and women move in and out of each others lives and homes as easily as they would buy a new car every few years. When something better comes along, just take it! This is a world in which real relationships with real woman are set aside by weak willed men for the ogling fantasy of a fake tanned, surgically enhanced, perfectly proportioned, air brushed, latest page 3 Katie Price look alike. This is a world where real relationship, with real people in real community is set side for the deception of “internet intimacy.” This is a world of convenience and self centred ness on a massive scale. Many are motivated by a basic selfishness. What is good for me is the anthem of our age!

Fortunately, into this self centred, broken and sick world, God has always spoken, and God continues to speak! He speaks a completely different language and a completely different message. His Gospel, his good news speaks a language of “other centred love.” He says that because of his love for us, he was prepared to lay aside all of his glory, and come and live with us, like one of us. He does all of this out of “other centred love.” The Bible says that he so loved the world that he gave himself to us. He invaded our space and time world by taking the form of a baby and living amongst us, just because he loved us. This is magnificent, this is the good news of the Gospel. God calls those that know him to the same language of “other centred ness” and the same lifestyle of other centred ness that he exemplified in his son Jesus. He calls us to live like this, for others, by the power of his Spirit in us. To live like this is challenging! It is not convenient, it is not easy for it goes against all of our selfishness and our lust for more of everything. It challenges our desire for comfort, for personal peace and affluence. It cuts against the grain of all of this but it is what God calls us to!

The Bible uses an unfashionable word to express what I now describe. It is a word that the world hates, spits upon and mocks. It is a word upon which God calls us to build our lives upon. It is a simple word..COVENANT. Covenant is a basic promise that commits itself to a God honouring, others centred, unselfish life. It is a commitment to building a community of faith, the family of God, together. The world of convenience doesn’t understand this. Our instant world does not even begin to comprehend the majesty, the joy and beauty of covenant community that God has for us. Sometimes you do glimpse the beauty of it. You catch it in the eye of an old married couple that have been building together for many years. It sometimes does not even need to be whispered to be expressed but it is obvious and it is there. I read an article published on1 January 2012 in the Sunday Telegraph which discussed the growth of the Christian church over the last decade here in London. (This in contrast to the trend of a shrinking church going population over the last 50 years) A desire for genuine community seems to be a central reason for why many churches are growing. I would strongly encourage you to read the article by following this link. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8970031/The-return-to-religion.html

There are some things worth fighting for. One is the Gospel. It’s truth brings freedom and forgiveness to all that believe. Community and friendship are also worth fighting for. Firstly, friendship with God and then friendship with Gods people. This however is birthed in a gospel that lives for others, and not for itself. Its motivation is other centered love not self centered fulfilment. This is my encouragement as we step over the threshold into 2012. There does seem to be sea change in our society. Selfish “freedom” which has damaged communities for so long is being challenged at long last. It is by the truth of the Gospel. Jesus came into a dying world for the sake of people that he loved. We are still called to go into the world, our communities, and take the same message of the gift of the gospel of grace to all that we can. This brings true freedom and builds genuine community. May 2012 be the most fruitful year for all of Gods church, as we live for him and for the sake of others.

Advertisement