I feel that we (myself and those closest to me) are on the edge of something big. That God is going to work, and not in a small way, and this time is imminent. So many people I know and they know long for something deeper, a relationship with another person where they can bare their hearts and work toward healing. It is so easy for fear to keep us from being real with others in the places where we are hurting; we fear that the other person will not recognize the hurt in his or her own life and judge us for our struggles. What I have been learning – learning as in understanding with my life, not my mind – is that we are on a journey. The Bible even says that we are running a race; we define sanctification as the process of becoming holy. Yet so often the corporate church, and myself, focus on being perfect – the end goal, and don’t appreciate or acknowledge that getting there is a difficult journey with struggles of many kinds. So what we long for, what we need, is a community where we can come together and support each other along this journey. I believe this is what God wants for his children.
What are we waiting for? What is holding us back from this? First, I believe everything in God’s time. Our desire and anticipation is growing for this, and when we proceed, it will not be half hearted. What results is going to be life altering. I am not supposing that some new wave or trend will start in the church; that is not the focus of this. At least not the organized church. We are looking at our lives and the people we touch. This focus on community is very personal. Secondly, we need to do this as a community and have everyone necessary in place. My friend noted that others need to come along on their own and not be pushed off the edge. This is very true. Certain relationships will force others along, and we don’t need to be causing harm in the pursuit of love. So now we gather and wait in anticipation on the edge of a cliff, to dive deep into the relationships and community that God has orchestrated.
