When I was young my family moved a lot. And by a lot, I mean A LOT! My father’s job required us to relocate often, so much so, that by the time I got to my freshman year, I had already attended 11 different schools in 3 different states. I remember well the effect that had on me, never knowing how long I would actually be living in a particular place. Though I desperately wanted a group of friends to whom I could belong, I was reticent to invest deeply in relationships because of the pain associated with being uprooted time and time again. I had said “Good-bye” to so many friends at an early age that I ended up building a wall of defense around myself in order to preserve my lonely heart. Though I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, what my heart so desperately was seeking was a sense of community. I needed a place and a people to call “home.”
Thankfully my high school experience allowed me to begin truly experiencing that. By God’s grace and my parent’s determination to provide our family with that elusive sense of stability, I was able to attend all four years of high school at the same place! Like rain quenching the sands of an arid dessert, my heart began to soak in all the joy and peace of finding a place to belong, a group of friends with whom I could actually build long-term memories with and simply experience the wonders of doing life together. I began developing deep friendships with classmates and even got to know my teachers well. Returning to the same faces and bonds for a second and third year in a row was something I had only dreamed about before. I remember fearing that it was going to come to an end, because this is what I had always wanted but had never gotten to experience. It was a comfort unlike I had ever known before, being among people whom I had grown to love and whom I knew truly loved me.
On the day that I tossed my mortar board into the air with all those friends I had come to cherish so dearly, I took a mental snapshot that I still carry in my mind to this day. It is a picture of a community of people who navigated the highs and lows of life together, laughed with each other, prayed with each other, cried with each other, and served with each other. It is a photo of a group of people who supported one another and each member of that group was better off and blessed for having been a part of the joint experience.
Last year I attended my 20th reunion. There were some people there whom I’ve kept in touch with over the years through e-mail and phone calls and facebook. There were others, however, that I don’t think I’d seen since graduation day. But, because of the bond we built during those crazy and awesome days in the late 80′s, we were able to pick up right where we had left off. The sense of community was as strong and real as it ever was, and each of us knew it.
One detail I didn’t mention earlier about this community in which I exist is that it centers around Jesus Christ. You see, I was blessed to attend a Christian High School, where our bonds were forged not just in the halls and classrooms of a building, or on the courts of the gymnasium, but in the soil of God’s Word and truth. I wholeheartedly believe that the primary reason this community I’ve told you about thrives is because it is built on a foundation that is unshifting, and that is the love of almighty God.
1 Corinthians 12:12-271 Corinthians 12:12-27
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
One Body with Many Parts
12 The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does.
13 Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit. w Some of us are Jews ... that same Spirit: Verse 13 may also be translated, “God's Spirit is inside each of us, and all around us as well. So it doesn't matter that some of us are Jews and others are Gentiles and that some are slaves and others are free. Together we are one body.”
14 Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts.
15 Suppose a foot says, “I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body?
16 Or suppose an ear says, “I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body?
17 If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing.
18 But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.
19 A body isn't really a body, unless there is more than one part.
20 It takes many parts to make a single body.
21 That's why the eyes cannot say they don't need the hands. That's also why the head cannot say it doesn't need the feet.
22 In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest.
23 We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts,
24 but we don't have to be modest about other parts.
God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable.
25 He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others.
26 If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy.
27 Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body.
WP-Bible plugin talks about the Body of Christ. And that is exactly what this community was, and is. We exist not only as friends, but as members of the very Body of Christ. Each of us are individual people, but we co-exist as joint members of a larger whole. Some of us are pastors, some of us are teachers, some are bankers and missionaries on the other side of the world. Others are homemakers or plant managers. But regardless of our various jobs, we all find ourselves on earth to serve the same purpose, and that is to live in community, loving one another and loving God! And there is no greater joy known to anyone in this life.
Since high school, I’ve gone on to become a part of other communities as well, each of them eternally significant as well. The bonds I made with numerous Christ-followers in college still thrive to this day. I still do life together with several of them, whether they live nearby or distant. And then there is my church family, a bond which nearly defies description. It is one of those blessings you almost have to personally experience to fully comprehend. And even in the midst of it, I struggle to fully comprehend it at times. My church family, my small group, and my closest brothers and sisters in Christ are a community that are virtually as necessary to my life as food and oxygen. I interact with them everyday, numerous times a day. We are literally the living, breathing hands and arms and feet and heart of Jesus to one another, which is the way God designed community to work. And that is something we all long for and need, no matter how old we are. I didn’t outgrow my need for community once I got my diploma. In fact, I will never outgrow that need. Living in community is something I look forward to enjoying for all of eternity, as I eventually move from doing it on earth to doing it in heaven.
Do you find yourself in a community such as I’ve described? Have you found that sense of belonging among men and women who know, love, and follow Jesus? Other communities will try to substitute for this greatest of connections, but nothing even comes close. If you’re in such a community, wonderful! Keep making it a priority and investing in it. If you’re not in a community such as this, please know that you are welcome to join ours at The Mount. We truly invite you with open arms! There is always room for more in the Body of Christ. And, if you don’t live in this area, no worries! The Body of Christ exists all over the globe, and as you pray and seek God’s guidance in finding one, He will lead you “home!”
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