A Tale of Two Communities

Last night, an elderly gentleman fell down outside of my apartment complex. I spent about ten minutes trying to help him up, but he was two to three times my weight and the physics were not in my favor. Every time I would get his weight off the ground, my feet would start sliding towards him, and he was not strong enough to provide any help. So, I explained that I had only been here for one week and did not know anyone at the complex yet, and asked him if he knew anyone I could call to come help. “I have been here for seven years, but no, I don’t know anyone.”

After a moment of shock, I went into my apartment to call a fellow Wheaton student I had met the day before. Within five minutes, this near stranger had dropped everything and was on his way to help me on behalf of a complete stranger.

The whole episode reminded me of why believers are supposed to live in community (both within our Christian community and within our broader community): there are things in life that are too big for one person to handle, whether that is learning to seek Christ better, or finding accountability with a sin you are struggling with, or lifting someone off the ground who is many times your size. We need other people. And most people recognize this need, though many do not know how to fulfill it (for instance, this man undoubtedly recognized the need for a community, except his community was himself).

In the church today, community is something that is hard to attain, and is often defined as thirty seconds of awkward conversation with the person next to you while the worship band keeps playing. However, Paul dedicates much of his time to explaining how the community should work together (Gal. 6, much of Eph., etc.). In Acts 2, as soon as people came to follow Christ, they immediately entered into true community (sharing meals, in that context). When community truly exists, it is an extremely attractive thing. For instance, though I had not had time to integrate into my broader context, I had fellow believers who I could already lean on, even though I had only spent a whopping one hour with them over lunch.

How is your community? Are you participating in both your secular community and your Christian community? Or are you preferring to live as a community of one?