It's been a long time since I smiled and giggled myself to sleep. When you have a best friend who happens to have created the universe (or all of them, if you're an M-theorist), life has an unexplainable giddiness to it - an exquisite element of joy that is comparable to nothing else. Moments like these remind me that the heart of a child is what thrills Jesus, because that's how God created us. He wants us to smile, laugh, and giggle with Him.
But I believe that's only part of the equation. Since I moved away from home and entered college, and then moved on from college to full-time ministry, I've noticed there's one other element crucial to not only my sanity, but my joy. I must be in communion with my King, but I must be in community with others. I've grown to learn that the two compliment each other, they each sweeten the journey, this wonderful pursuit of Christ.
And it's not just me. I've spoken to others in ministry, dear friends who struggle with the same. Community. I hear so much from the pulpit about my relationship with Jesus, how to refine it, to dig deeper, and to yearn for nothing but Him. But... people. Friends, soul mates. Laughter, adventure, social interaction, community. I need those too. I need other people who are also in communion with Jesus, to learn from them, to glean from their experiences, and to offer my experiences to them.
On Wednesday night, I pulled into Bristol just in time to reach my home church for the annual Christmas dinner. As I walked through the door, I saw hundreds of familiar faces. I can't remember how many people I hugged, but it had to have been equal to the number of people who hugged me (some of you will get that later, just give it time). I'm not talking about superficial hugs. I'm talking about when your home-grown, good ol' boy associate pastor skips the handshake and squeezes you so tight that the sweet tea you just chugged gets expedited to your bladder. I'm talking about a lead pastor that when he sees you, he almost knocks your food out of your hand as he hugs you and exclaims "what's up big daddy?! I didn't expect to see you here!" The moment my expression even hinted I was looking for my mother, a host of hands from the back corner fly up in the air, welcoming me home from across the room, anxious to hug, catch up, and break bread together. Community. Blessed community.
All around the world, people are starved for this. How could we be curious why Facebook and Twitter are growing so quickly? One out of every six minutes spent online around the world is devoted to social networking. Facebook accounts for 73% of the internet population in the U.S. People are desperate for community, however it comes.
My good friend, Matt Chambers, recently wrote about community on his blog, ETHOSHIFT. I pulled two verses I recalled from his post:
We are called to love one another, and spur each other to good works.
We are called to bear one another's burdens and restore one another from transgression.
My prayer for myself, my dear friends in Uganda, Matt and Jordana, and for the rest of you struggling to find community, is that in 2012, not only do we find it, but we latch onto it with everything we have. We are called the body of Christ for a reason. May we find peace and refuge in our Savior through the arms of our friends.
As the new year approaches, how will you find community?
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