Eirene is Jed Chun's personal blog, hosted by Joy Is Found. It's a reflective blog that he started with the intention of finding joy and renewing his awe of God in his everyday life as well as the places and things that are around him. He explores a variety of topics in relation to faith such as food, mental health, travel and relationships.
Tsim Sha Tsui Pier, Kowloon. Camera: Canon 6D Lens: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART
I don’t quite know how to summarize part 1 of this series but, basically, community in Christ can be much broader than we initially think it to be.
There was a period of time a few years ago when I decided to check out another church small group for a while. I think this was vaguely prompted by some internal longing to be more connected with people my age. In any case, I had a few free weeknights and decided there was no harm in checking this new small group out. One of the friends I met through my online dating adventures attended this church and I decided that this might be a good place to start because I knew there would be at least a few people there that were around my age.
On my first visit, I was immediately intrigued because I popped in part-way through an ongoing inductive Bible study series. It was an interesting mix of long-time believers, newish believers, and non-believers and the discussion was livelier than I’d been used to in a while. Given the wide range of spiritual maturity, there were a lot of interesting perspectives and thoughtful questions that got my theological gears grinding again. Maybe it was a new environment, maybe it was just being with people I did not know or maybe it was just a break from my typical routine, but the questions posed during this small group session definitely piqued my interest.
As I continued to attend, I felt welcomed and that was pleasantly balanced by the ongoing theological discussions that continued to intrigue me. But, despite that being the reason I was there, I started to notice that might not be the reason some of the others were there. One of the things that I definitely noticed was the sense community. I noticed that there were a few individuals who really took that next step in challenging and supporting the people who would pop in and pop out from week to week. Small group discussions were punctuated with personal sharing and prayer, but these were much more deeply personal than I was used to. I started to wonder what was different.
Reflecting on these thoughts now, I’ve come to the same conclusion as I did back then, that there was something different about those few individuals. Growing up a church kid, the idea that non-believers would come to church and participate in Bible study just because they liked being there was a foreign concept to me. But, after seeing how this small group interacted with each other, I was encouraged by the endless love and patience these people seemed to possess. What stood out to me in particular was them making time for spontaneous hours long conversations and for just being there and helping others process their thoughts. I realized that my communities were rather insular in comparison and that, perhaps, I could do the same for people I was close to. The effort that those individuals put into that small group though made even my best attempts seem driven by selfishness in comparison.
I think in passing I may have asked one of them how they did it, despite being obviously tired and worn out. They just said, “I don’t know, I just do,” or something along those lines. Knowing this person, it is obvious that God has given them an amazing gift of compassion; the type of compassion it takes to be that patient is the type of love that builds communities. Despite my understanding of this concept, I often feel that I am waiting for people to express interest in the God first before even attempting to accommodate or make efforts to invest my time – falling in line with the antiquated church model of waiting for people to come into the church. I don’t know if I ever told them how I felt about the community that they had created, but I hope that they know that their love did not go unnoticed. As far as I know they’re still pressing on, patient as ever, and are a continual reminder to me that there is power in individual relationships to create communities that provide that pillar of support that people seem to so desperately seek these days.
For me the encouragement continues to resound, love selflessly and you will bring people to Christ. I often find myself burying these thoughts in my own self-absorbed internal struggles. This is one of those practice what you preach moments for me – still working on making the effort to be more genuine and patient with those that God has already placed in my life. This is also a reminder that God’s continued love for me is something that is meant to be passed on, that God’s love is a mandate for us as believers, and that sacrificing genuinely and seeking the welfare of those around us, as Christ has done for us, is what we as believers should do. For those of you who are searching for community I hope that this encourages you. There are communities of loving individuals out there and there’s also a chance that there is a community God is waiting for you to start right where you are. God is calling, not just for people to come to him but for us to go out and love as well, so that they might see and they might come to know.
TLDR: Community can be our witness.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)