Discovering Community
The source of all such coming together is surely Jesus himself. Community is ever his gift. It was this way from the start. He formed the table fellowship. He sent his followers out not alone but in the company of one another.
When he came upon them after the Resurrection, he joined two on the road, encouraged a frightened crew huddled behind locked doors, fed a hungry band of them at dawn on the shores of Galilee.
He initially had drawn persons together, and he continued to shape them as a body. When the Holy Spirit burned forth Pentecost, it settled not on one but on a whole assembly.
In Christ Jesus we are formed into one people stretching through the ages of time. And in this sense, the community he creates is not only a gift. It is holy.
That is, its source is not in us. It emanates from him. Community sweeps forth and claims us from the realms of grace.
—Stephen V. Doughty
Discovering Community
Discovering community is discovering one of God’s greatest gifts to us; He made us to be in relationships with others, declaring it is not good for man to be alone (see Gen. 2:18). It is in relation to others that we grow and thrive. Isolated, we wither. Actively participating in community becomes a gift we pass on; community becomes a channel through which we can embody the love of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others. Community is living and breathing, loving and life-giving. Let us pray, thankful that God has given us a community and seeking His grace to embrace and fulfill our role as a vital part of the whole. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics