Like this:

I’m not one for novel or new ideas when it comes to God’s Word.  In fact, I have often said from the pulpit that any new idea you might have about the Bible is either wrong or has already been thought by somebody else.  That being said, I am opening my next statement up for critique as I have never read what I’m about to write in a commentary.  So, either I’m wrong or somebody much smarter than me already said it.

In the past 3 posts I have discussed living in community from my point of view but what about Jesus’ point of view?  As Christians we believe that Jesus is co-eternal and co-equal with the Father.  He was not created like me.  He always has been and He always will be.  That being said, Jesus has always known perfect community.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; 1 God, 3 persons working perfectly together as a unified will all for their own glory (that might sound funny and opens the door for another post later on but if you want a quick answer just start reading anything by John Piper).

Before Jesus chose to humble himself to become the God man He knew perfect fellowship and community in the Trinity.  While He was here on earth he experienced community in the ways that we experience it:  imperfect, often selfish, bickering, backbiting, sold out by a friend, giving grace to others, encouraged at times with progress but discouraged other times with the wrong answers.  So Jesus experienced community in heaven and community on earth.  Was there a time that He did not experience community?  I initially thought about His 40 days in the wilderness where He was alone and being tempted by Satan.  Then I read in Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit…”.  I thought about other times in His life and couldn’t think of another time when He was outside of community either with His disciples or with the Father as He is seen often getting away to be alone with the Father.

And then I remembered Jesus words in Matthew 27:46 “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”  At that moment Jesus was alone.  Shunned by the earthly and the heavenly.  Humanity hung him on a tree to be crucified as they cast their final vote to reject the Messiah and God the Father breaks community with the Son because the sins of the world must be judged.  Jesus carried every sin at that moment and the Father turns His face from the Son and treats him the way that we deserved to be treated.  The righteous one for the unrighteous.  The one who knew no sin for those who are sinners.  Broken community so that we could have unbroken community.

So, when I break from community in heaven and on earth I am rejecting one of the good gifts that Jesus gave me through the spilling of His blood.  I mock what He did not have at that moment and though my earthly community is imperfect it has moments of splendor where I can see glimmers of what heaven might be like.

I’m open to your thoughts and I’m sure somebody already said it better.  May we never take for granted anything that Christ has provided.

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