The Gift of Community

            I can not begin to express how great and fulfilling the call to Christian community is. Being involved in Troy Church has totally been an amazing opportunity for my wife and I to express real love for real people. With it being a “newer” church plant, it has been such a blessing getting to meet an awesome community of believers.

            Being in a Christian community has done more for my wife and I than we could have ever imagined. Through almost ever trial, hardship, and experience our local church members have been such an encouragement.

            As great and useful as a local church is, we are called to a larger community. The Body of Christ is such a precious gift to us believers, because of the unity in Christ and the provision God provides.

Romans 12:4-5 “For as in one body we have many members, [a] and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

            The unity and diversity we have in Christ is such a great tool for us as believers to use in our lives. The body is meant for the building up of itself in Christ Jesus and the spreading of the Gospel. Eph. 4:29, mentions the speech that should come out of the mouth of a believer in the Body.

           

            In the context of the Body, our speech should be used for the building up of one another and the Body as a whole.  I feel as if this is something the local and global body tend to forget.

            In my previous experiences poor speech between believers damages relationships, trust, and tarnishes the Bride. Pastors, deacons, elders, church members, church goers, whatever title one claims our speech should mirror the love, compassion, and encouragement of Christ’s grace.

            Encouragement in the Body is an overflow of building up one another in Christ.  1 Thess. 5:11; 14, these verses serve as a reminder to me not only about what I say, but also how I live outwardly. Living the Christian life is not about being the “good Christian” internally, but living outwardly in a way that admonishes other members of the Body while always reflecting Christ.

             There is no way to have speech that builds up the body or encourages one another without love and the sacrifice Jesus provided. This love acts as a conduit for the Body to receive all good and prefect things from the Father through Christ. I found myself reading John Winthrop’s A Model of Christian Charity this week. This speech was written about Winthrop’s desire of how he wanted colonial settlers to treat on another.

            Winthrop’s call to love made his expectations clear to his hearers. He desired the settlers to have relational (life on life) interactions that would be pleasing to the Father.  Above that, Winthrop speaks of a going above and beyond type of love. I believe this love is still needed in the local and global Body today. "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14