Personal not Private

I am learning that there is a difference between the two. Our relationship with our maker, is a very personal thing. It is a personal decision we make to be a follower, to become a Christian and even more personal are the experiences we have. And even though our experiences may be the exact same, or even similar, what we learn- how it impacts us is unique unto itself. What am I trying to say?

That we are called into community. We need other people in order to be happy and maintain some sort of sanity at all in life. We are not asked to "fellowship" with one another, but are called to community. So why does every church I've ever been a member of have a fellowship hall? Why not a community room instead? Community implies friendship and fellowship, yes, but it also delves a little deeper into a certain home-feeling. Where people are comfortable with one another and open. They share the same vision. Community means laying on the floor playing board games, singing loudly even though you can't and not caring that your socks don't match your trousers. (Well, to me it does....) Community means I'm honest about my addictions and prejudices. And I don't always wear make-up and sometimes you cuss and forget to bring snacks, but we don't care. We don't judge and we don't worry and we realize there are more important things than the color of the carpet. Like People.

Christianity should not be an "altar call" for folks to "Come on out and be like us. Get rid of your sins and follow Jesus and your life will be perfect." Then we usually say, "Well, not perfect, but you'll live a decent life. Happy even. And you'll have your faith when you have nothing else."

REALLY! As my Grandaddy would say, "Bull!"

We are not perfect, our lives are sometimes not so happy, and what about when faith seems too small a thing to stand on? Money seems like it'll provide more stability and pride offers alot more room for growth and we can all get better footing on a thing like fairness than a thing like faith.

We should invite people into our communities. Into our lives. Our real lives. Not what we want others to see in us on Sunday morning. You need love, come into our community. Your wife just left you, come into our community. Your house was repossessed and you need a place to sleep, come into our community. You are bitter and angry and don't understand life, come into our community. Cause we've been there, heck, we are there. And we don't understand life either.

A friend of mine recently told me that she had a much better week when she slowed down and saw life as Christ saw life; people and animals - even art and nature. She said she wasn't so angry when she took the focus off herself and her agenda and really looked around- taking a constant inventory of it all. All the limbs of trees and pigeons and people. So many people. People that need community just as much as we do.