Do you know what the best thing about church is? People. Do you know what the worst thing about church is? Yep, you guessed it–people! In the last several days I have been struggling with people, especially church people. Its not been open hostility or raging conflict. No, its that quite inner conflict of differing desires and perceptions. Its been that quiet unrest and inner turmoil that leads me to want to distance myself and push “them” away. It is so easy for me to become isolated and insulated from others.
This week I came across a quote from Howard Snyder in “The Community of the King.” Snyder writes: “If Jesus Christ actually gave more time to preparing a community of disciples than to proclaiming the good news, which he did, then the contemporary church must also recognize the importance of community for proclamation. . . . Truly Christian transformation of culture comes through Christlike and hence sacrificial love, community, and being.”
What did Jesus really value? People and community. What do I really value? Well my frustrations, stress, and struggles reveal the answer–and its not people and community, its ME. Eugene Peterson’s translation of Matthew 5:23-24 in “The Message” is so powerfully direct in our call to value and embody community.
If Jesus placed people and community at the forefront of his life and ministry, should I not do the same?
Trying to LIVE more like HIM,
-Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
I’ve had some of the very same thoughts recently after reading the book unChristian. I think a great template that Jesus left for us in engaging the world is how he treated the woman caught in adultery. He took care of her immediate physical needs first by getting rid of those who wanted to harm her. Then he extended grace by explicitly not judging her (which is probably the hardest part for those of us who aren’t worthy to judge). It was only then that he began to deal with her sin (which can be pretty difficult, as well, in a world that doesn’t believe in sin.)