nothing is yet in its true form

“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” – Matthew 27:51

I read that verse and quickly recognize that God is in the business of reconnection. However, there have been a few things I’ve noticed lately that weigh heavy on my mind. First, I’ve noticed that we as humans are social and communal beings. Second, I’ve noticed that though we love community, we are not particularly good at doing it. Look all around and you will see that everyone is trying to figure out how a healthy community should work, whether in family, business, government, or religion. As a Christian, I would think that the best place to seek and view a well-working community would be in the Christian church. But sadly, even there we find a broken relationship.

I want to start by saying that I look to the church, that is the general body of Christians, because I believe the Bible gives instruction as to what a community should look like. However, I would never be so closed minded as to reject input from the secular world because I am looking for anything that is going to help me. However, as I see it, the most important part of life is the spiritual side, so I will aim my remarks at the greater Christian church.

When one examines the institution of traditional Christianity, one does not exactly find a shining example of what a group of like-minded individuals should look like. In fact, the overall theme seems to be centered more on disunity among Christians rather than unity as many Christians identify themselves by their denominations – Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Methodists and the like – rather than just being a mere Christian. While I agree it is important to stand up for what you believe, I’m not sure the Bible calls us to this level of separation. While some would argue that Christ came “not to bring peace, but a sword,” I might suggest that this fact is not relevant in our present discussion.

I think one of the clearest examples of community in the Bible is found in the second chapter of Acts. We find here a description of the very earliest “church.” They were not a bureaucratic counsel, but rather a lot of individuals who loved Jesus and gathered together. When they were together, they prayed, taught, and ate together. Most importantly, verse 46 tells us “They had a single purpose.” They may not have been the most intellectual, organized, or highly esteemed group, but they knew what life was really about, and subsequently they changed the whole world.

So how exactly did the church go from Acts 2 to become what it is today? I would guess that all it took was looking away from the “single purpose” (Jesus) for a mere moment. We (humanity) have a bad habit of making mountains out of molehills. We very easily lose sight of the task at hand and replace it with something trivial. It probably started as some small issue and snowballed from there.

Well now you’re probably wondering how we set out to fix this problem, but I don’t have a definitive answer. There is a lot of hope though because we have been given an extremely thorough guidebook as to how Christian community should work. I would recommend we all take a very careful look at Acts 2. This chapter does not give all the answers, but it gives hope and evidence that community can happen. I also think we need to read over our Bibles carefully and seek out community through it. As far as the church goes, I think the institution is vitally important, but it isn’t flawless. We need to be open to change, and ready to accept biblical truth even when it is inconvenient for us.

So this is my own call to the church. We need to get back to what is important, and I highly doubt it has anything to do with whether or not we allow dancing, or how often we partake in the Holy Eucharist. I’m not saying we need to abandon these as our own personal beliefs, but when they get in the way of the greater goal – which I would suggest is the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39) – we need to reexamine our doctrine. I think God is pleased that the church is continuing to do His work, but I don’t think His strategy is through cell warfare (pockets of believers operating independently). Rather I think God’s strategy would be a giant, unified, invading army (1 Corinthians 12:12).

I am of the understanding that relationships are what life is truly based upon. You are fully entitled to disagree with me, but if you are a Christian, you should reconsider your stance carefully. If you believe as most Christians do, then you have already accepted that at the very center of the universe is a relationship; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is amazingly reassuring to me that though we live in a world full of much brokenness, the God of the universe seeks to draw us into a right relationship with Him. Like I said before, God is in the business of reconnection, and as we draw closer to Him we reconnected with ourselves, and indeed each other as well.