Life Together
Modern realities keep us far from the practices of the earliest Christian communities as described in the New Testament. We can't and don't share possessions, meals, and time nearly as often as we could and should. We are hyper-individualists living in a hyper-individualist generation in a hyper-individualist nation.
And yet we are not devoid of the sweetness of community. One particularly nice manifestation of that is the couples small group we are part of through our church. Counted among our four couples are six and a half jobs, ten children, and far too little free time. But once a month, we gather to eat food, tell jokes, study the Bible, pray, wrestle with moral dilemmas and tough life decisions, and share a little bit of ourselves. And, because of our relative proximity to each other, we can also aspire to see each other, formally and informally, outside of the normal settings of church and small group.
It ain't "Acts 2," but it ain't half bad. In fact, it feels quite rich to be blessed thusly, with friends and co-journeyers to sharpen and encourage and challenge and feed me.
And yet we are not devoid of the sweetness of community. One particularly nice manifestation of that is the couples small group we are part of through our church. Counted among our four couples are six and a half jobs, ten children, and far too little free time. But once a month, we gather to eat food, tell jokes, study the Bible, pray, wrestle with moral dilemmas and tough life decisions, and share a little bit of ourselves. And, because of our relative proximity to each other, we can also aspire to see each other, formally and informally, outside of the normal settings of church and small group.
It ain't "Acts 2," but it ain't half bad. In fact, it feels quite rich to be blessed thusly, with friends and co-journeyers to sharpen and encourage and challenge and feed me.
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