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As I wrote last time, I have been thinking about and attempting to live in community at my church.  It’s no small task but I believe that it’s in community where we learn to be disciples of Christ.  Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 4:19, “Come, and follow Me, and I will make you fisher’s of men.”  This established the community that the disciples entered but before that Jesus chose to enter our world.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  This “Word” refers to Jesus Christ and is the same “Word” referred to in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  In eternity past, Jesus (the 2nd person of the Trinity, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father) chose a time (1 Timothy 2:6) when He would become a man (Matthew 1:18ff).  In this decision, Jesus chose to leave a perfect community (the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; One God, three persons), and enter into an imperfect community (humanity).

There’s an interesting word in John 1:14 that also sheds light on how Jesus lived in community with us.  The word “dwelt” means “to live in a camp as in a tent” and hearkens the new Testament readers mind back to the Old Testament when the Lord “Tabernacled” or “dwelt” with his people (Exodus 25:8).  So, when Jesus “dwelt” among us, it means more than just walking around the earth in proximity of people.  He actually camped out with us and lived in our community.

We were made to be in communion with our Maker.  We were made to be in communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We were made to be in communion with humanity.  1 Corinthians 11:23-34 discusses the Lord’s Supper which is often seen as emphasizing our vertical relationship but verse 33 also discusses our horizontal relationships:  ”So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.”

These ideas have been gnawing at me for many months now and I have come to the conclusion that I MUST choose to be in community and I MUST make radical changes in my life to accomplish that.  So, what will you do?

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