Beauty in Community

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift... for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4.1-7, 12.

The single most exciting part of following Christ in my own life is the freedom from isolation. Before Christ, I was essentially steeped in Pharisaic pride. I spent every minute of my life analyzing the moral codes of everyone around me. Christian faith was the deepest endeavor into the "ethical sphere." The truest Christian was the one who was not only most righteous, but known as most righteous by all those he encountered. In truth, my judgments stemmed from a) pride and continual comparison to those around me and b) a complete insecurity in my own weaknesses.

When Christ interfered, I was forced to re-evaluate my radical individualism. I could no longer spend my days and nights determining the worth of others. I was too humiliated to judge. I couldn't isolate myself inside myself. I was too weak to stand alone.

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he encourage pagan Gentiles to participate in a "Jewish" religion. He sought to free them from the oppression of the powers of darkness, as they were "seated with Christ in the heavenly places." They were no longer subject to the magical powers that tormented the Phrygian valley. In their new freedom from pagan powers, they were now members of a new body. They had formally been "excluded from the commonwealth of Israel," but now they were full-fledged members in a community that is "blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."

Within this community, they have the "hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and the surpassing greatness of His power toward [those] who believe." In light of these things, Paul encourages them to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling." For Paul, this looks like unity in the community. It means people from different backgrounds can relate and live in love because of what Christ has done.

In my own life, I see myself determining my own brand of Christianity as the epitome of true faith. I sit through worship services and judge everyone's level of "maturity." Those who don't raise their hands don't care, those who do are faking it. I'm the only one in the room who really gets God. In reality, community is a blessing. It means I don't need all the answers. It means we can discuss, we can disagree and we can live through it. Love makes all of this possible. All that is required is that we are diligent to preserve that unity.