I have been thinking a lot about community lately. And by “lately”, I mean “the past two years”. And by “thinking”, I mean “encountering the idea of it in every single aspect of my life”.

Growing up, you have friends. There are people you like to hang out with oftentimes for no other reason than a shared interest in a certain movie or video game. There are other people that you are more intimate with, giving personal, private details about your life that you don’t regularly reveal to everyone.

Then, there is family. There is family in the sense of blood relation, but many times those people share little of your life and a lot of them seem more distant of a relationship than even the faintest of friends. The other type of family is those people that know your ins-and-outs. They hold you accountable when you mess up, they pray with you when you struggle, they open up their lives to the finest of scrutiny out of a more passionate love for you than some people share even with parents.

Community has always been God’s tangible representation of many of His mysteries on earth. Though certainly not perfected, our relationships on earth are intended to point towards the Trinity, the future Kingdom, and Christ’s marriage to the Church. Throughout their history, God has used His people and their walk with Him to show the rest of the world how beautiful He is.

This sounds awesome as an idea, but are we really pursuing it in life?

Do we care about the people around us at such a deep, deep level that, were a stranger to look at how we interact with and care for them, they would see a glimpse of the King?

Do we set out with intention to push the ones we love towards the person God wants them to be, or do we shy away from talk of struggle and sin to avoid the possibility of an uncomfortable conversation?

Do we view every relationship in our lives, from the acquaintance to the spouse, as a reflection of the love God has for both people involved, or do we invalidate that love and arrogantly assume that the more superficial relationships aren’t as important?

If Jesus stood right beside you while you spoke with your spouse, would you be able to look him in the eye and say that you love that person like He loves you?

What about if He stood beside you while you ordered your morning coffee, interacting with the beautiful child of His that was preparing it?

Where in your life are you really loving like He loves you? Is it only in the situations where your love is given <em>reactively</em>, because the other person loves you? Or is it even in those situations where it is needed<em> proactively</em>, with no hope or expectation of love in return?

Community is life lived without boundaries. No fences around your love, no walls around your care, no gates around your fellowship.

Would you define the community of your life as a country club, open to some but not others, exclusive, selective? Or would you define it as a park, open and welcome to all, free from judgment, common and diverse?

I give you a new commandment:
Love one another;
just as I have loved you,
you also must love one another. (John 13:34)