Community
Scripture Reading — Matthew 12:46-50
Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
I love the word community. Many of the student groups I have worked with over the years have gotten tired of hearing me talk about community. But I can’t help it. I love the concept of people gathering together for the purposes of accountability, learning, fellowship, and mission. Besides, it’s in the Bible, so it’s got to be good!
Jesus was teaching a group of people about faith and the kingdom and discipleship. And while he was talking to the crowd, his own family came to speak to him. But instead of dropping everything and talking to them, Jesus continued teaching, and he even used his family as an example. “Who is my family?” he asked, in effect. “Those who do the will of my Father in heaven—they are my family.”
Was Jesus denying his biological family here? No, but he was not going to put them ahead of doing the will of God.
Jesus redefined family and community here in a radical way. Instead of simply being a gathering of relatives or like-minded neighbors, the community became people we gather with for the purpose of faith, mission, and challenge in living for God.
Who is your family? Who holds you accountable to God’s purposes in life, and who walks alongside you in both good and bad times? With whom do you gather for the purposes of faith-building, mission, and challenge? Wherever you find those people, there is your family—the community of God.
Father, thank you for the community you have built around me. Help me to find people to walk with me through life. Amen.
About the author — Bret Lamsma
Bret Lamsma is director of faith formation at a church in Denver, Colorado, and has served churches in Michigan and California in youth, inter-generational, and educational ministries. Bret and his wife, Julie, have two children, and he enjoys hiking, camping, and visiting national parks with his family.
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