One of the things that fascinates me about Jesus was that he was a masterful communicator. One of the ways that he loved to communicate was via word pictures.
Jesus loved to paint word pictures.
He did this because he knew that, through word pictures, we would be able to intrinsically understand and connect the truths that he was teaching us with our real lives today.
Two of the most powerful word pictures that he used to describe you and I were salt and light:
Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Matt 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
When we read these verses, we, in our western individualistic world views, think that he’s talking about you and I individually–that we are individually the salt of the earth and the light of the world. However, when you look at the original language, the word “you” is actually plural.
You (the community together) are the salt of the earth.
You (the community together) are the light of the world – a city on a hill.
You (the community together) are the body of Christ, and each of us is a part of it (1 Cor 12:27).
Jesus never intended any of us to journey through life alone. Faith is not a private thing, it’s a community thing. We each have our own relationship with God, but it is in the context of community that we live it out and grow.
We are a community that lives out and represents the Gospel. We are a community where you belong before you believe. We are a community that is not about whether you are in or out, but more about the direction that you are journeying in. In a sense, we are an extended family, with all of our own junk, but a family that accepts one another knowing and understanding that the relationships we are developing right now don’t just end when you move away, but actually extend into eternity.
In a sense, we are a fragmented group of individuals journeying toward wholeness in Christ Jesus because we realize that he is the one who heals us, restores us, and gives us meaning to life. He shows us the way to life.
So we are a community–not a set of meetings.
We are a community desiring to know each other and be known. Yes, we have our regular weekend gatherings, our small groups, and our missional communities, but that’s beside the point. It’s not about the meetings, it’s about the relationships.
And one of the most powerful ways that we can develop relationships is by serving one another. So I’m going to propose a challenge for each of us to take.
Get together with you small group or missional community. Choose something that you could do yourself, but that you are willing to have someone else come alongside you to do. Then get together and do it for each other within the next two months. Spend that time together intentionally serving one another and living life together. It’s less about the activity and more about the time spent together.
Remember, although you are going to practically help one another, it’s really less about that, and more about spending time with one another.
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