Restoring Community

One of the things created by the power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was a community.  It was a community different from any other community in history because prior to that moment there had never been a community centered on Jesus and given its life by the Spirit of God.  As a Jesus centered community it was created to be a community where external things used to separate one person from another had no place and where love was the prime directive for its existence.  It was a community which reflected the heart of Jesus and one which expressed itself in the world as His hands and feet.   

In a day when there is so much divisive chaos present in the church, it is good to remember who we are.  In too many places we talk about the need for people to join together as one in Christ; yet, in the next minute we are spouting some rhetoric which can only be divisive as it denigrates others and exalts ourselves.  Will we never tire of talking about who is right and who is wrong?  There is much room for repentance in every corner of the church for we have forgotten the language of reconciliation and the way the love of Christ looks when it is given to the world.  Instead of wailing at the sins of others, we would be better served to kneel at the cross until we can do nothing but weep. 

It is time for forgetting about the other person and how far from the truth that person is living.  It is time for looking only at one person and that person is the one who looks back at us in the mirror.  What is the person in the mirror doing to promote reconciliation and express love?  There is much work which needs to be done to restore the community we are content to be broken and as is always the case, the first step toward that work is mine to take.  Any maybe yours, as well.