Community.

I've been reading a lot about the topic of community. It is an interesting thing, if you take a moment to look at it.

The two books, Blue like Jazz by Donald Miller and The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne have helped me realize that faith, particularly the Christian faith, is not something done alone.

So, I question: are we meant to live in community? Aren't we called to Love God and Love others? How can we fulfill this commandment unless we are living with each other, rubbing off, loving, encouraging, annoying, and working things out? Hmm, what a thought.

Christianity started with a community. Read about the early Church and how it worked in Acts. It even will end with community in the book of Revelation where, "this community is called the New Jerusalem, where heaven visits the earth and people are fully reconciled to God and each other, the lion lays down with the lamb, mourning turns into dancing, and the garden takes over the concrete world!" as Claiborne has said.

"But this doesn't mean that community is easy. For everything in this world tries to pull us away from community, pushes us to choose ourselves over others, to choose independence over interdependence, to choose great things over small things, to choose going fast alone over going far together."-Claiborne

When Jesus sent out the disciples, he sent them out in pairs. Man wasn't made to be alone.

Interesting thoughts. Especially when sometimes being alone seems like the easier alternative. No one to fight with, no one to disagree with, no one to put first (but our own selves), no one to take a risk on, a risk that might end up hurting you, no one to be disappointed by. But just because something isn't easy, doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do.

Anyways, just some things I've been thinking of and will continue to think of.