5 Minute Friday ~ Community

Joining up with Lisa Jo today, @ Gypsy Mama, for 5 Minute Friday.

In her words "...let’s spend our five minutes of writing today, sharing about community. Fight it, love it, hate it, hurt or healed by it, we were certainly built for it.

Set a timer and just write. Don’t worry about making it just right or not.

Go all in with your words.

Are you ready?"

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Community

GO!

I've been thinking a lot about community lately.

It started when I started leading a Bible study on Biblical marriage a few months back and  these words jumped right off the page...

"It is not good for the man to be alone... there was not found a helper suitable for him."

Sure, the context is marriage - but even in the perfection of the Garden, when fellowship was sweet and unhindered before man sinned and separated himself from God, God declared that people would need people - first family and then in larger communities.

Did you know that the word translated community appears something like 200 times in the Bible?

Family is our first community... God chose Abraham and his family. Then God grew that family into a large community.

A community that worshipped together, ate together, wept together, laughed together, played together, grumbled together, sinned together, traveled together, witnessed together, covenented together, prayed together, sacrificed together, were forgiven together, were disciplined together, hurt together, hurt each other together, created together, built together. conquered together, fled together, gathered manna together, trusted together...

They were a marvelous, magnificent mess - impossible to live without, nearly impossible to live with - but together they were God's people

I think, in general, the Nigeriens I know "do" community better than we westerners do. We like our privacy and our individualism a bit too much.

A united community striving for the same goal is a pretty formidable thing to encounter. I found out first had when the teachers at the French school our mission runs decided to strike...

In Hebrew, the word translated community often refered to a specially convoked, or called together, congregation, assembly, horde, multitude, to learn and hear from God - isn't it kind of amazing to think that God places us in different communities because we all need to hear the same message... learn the same lesson

Before time runs out (oops... just looked... it already has - but I really wanna finish this thought!), you know what is one of my favorite "community" verses?

One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation,

and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you,

an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are,

so shall the stranger be before the LORD.

(Number 15.15)

...that verse is God reminding this introvert, who, while she appreciates community, can also find them exhausting and is way too quick to say, "Ok, that's enough!" Community, however should remain open, always ready, arms wide to accept whatever stranger longing to find a place, to become a part and enter in together...

God is bringing us along together, in community, on this journey ever closer to His heart.

STOP! (yes... I know... a bit late!)

(Photo was given to us several years ago by missionary friends here in Niger - it it one o my favorites!)