community...relationship. both are centered around the same thing of one broken human interacting with another broken human. different people need it to differing degrees.
for me, i know that i need it to a great degree. in fact, it is the hardest part of my current situation for me. not the lack of a full time job or a place to live. it is not having those to be in relationship with and share our lives.
what is community for you? is it important to you? do you feel like you need it or are you quite satisfied? let me know what you are thinking.
3 comments:
What is essential to community and relationship is depth/impact. For example, when I returned from BFA, even though I knew everyone at church, the level of community was small/insignificant to what I had left. But having been home for 4 years now, my church family provides a much richer level of relationships.
Honestly, I'm rarely satisfied in my level of community. In a moment of time I might be but not for the long run. There is always someone I miss and long to connect with.
Thanks for your thoughts. I wonder if this level of community was something specific to BFA or if the American mindset leans towards a shallower sense of relationship.
I've been mulling this over and I think I would have to say no, it is not specific to BFA. I think any community that is "enclosed" and likeminded can be like that...I found college to be similar to BFA in regards to the level of community.
I think there is potential of high levels of community within churches too, if the churches are healthy, active, and intentional about strong relationships.
But unfortunately, I think in Western societies we have come to value independence, entertainment and wealth. So we allow our lives to be too busy, which limits our interactions with others, thus limiting depth. So we create facebook, twitter, and other social networks in order to keep up with others without the time investment, thus producing shallower relationships and an increase of loneliness. All the more reason for the church to provide community.
The need for relationship/community is God-inspired, created in each of us. It's a reflection of the Trinity and of what God designed us for before sin. Now, the longing for both has the ability to keep our hearts longing for Heaven, which isn't such a bad thing. BFA, church, college...they are merely glimpses of what will be. No wonder we want more...
Post a Comment