On the wall in my kitchen hangs a simple black sign with white letters. I saw it one day as I was perusing one of those trendy home decorating websites, and knew I had to order it! The day it arrived I excitedly tore open the box, pulled out the sign, hammered a nail into the wall, and hung it in a spot where it would serve as a daily reminder of the only reason I am able to serve and love the people God brings into my life. The sign says,
“We love because He first loved us.”
As members of the body of Christ we have experienced a love that has left us forever changed. This love that has been so lavishly given is the same love that should motivate how we view those with whom we come in contact with. We are the body of Christ, and we have an amazing privilege and calling to give our lives away. Taking the time to remember our calling enables us to look beyond ourselves and see everyone as being a member of a family – whether it be online, in our church, or in our friendships. Why? Because we have experienced God’s amazing love.
In today’s world, moms are turning more and more to the internet for the community they crave with other believers. Busy schedules, and easy access to computers, smart phones, and tablets have allowed us to find people just like us, across the world, right from the comfort of our own homes. It’s fantastic, because even if there’s no one quite like you in your town or city, you can bet there’s someone like you on Facebook, just waiting to connect!
But for all the good of online community, aren’t we still called to love our neighbors? You know…our actual neighbors? Those people we see on a day-to-day basis? Aren’t we called to have community with them, too?
We are…but most of us are too busy to be able to swing what the Bible calls authentic Christian community. We crave it, but we think we don’t have time for it.
To help make a case for “in real life” community, let’s look at how the Bible tells us to live out this calling.
The scriptures give us a lot of input as to how we are called to live out this calling, but before you become overwhelmed with another “what believers are supposed to do” list, maybe we can learn to view this as more of a lifestyle that we live, than a list of things to do. If we think of it this way, we’ll find that we really do have the time!
As busy moms, we daily find ourselves in contexts in which we can live this calling out. It doesn’t take extra time to accomplish, only a heart that is others oriented and tuned in to the opportunities that are already present (<<— Tweet That!). Living out the calling of “community” can be done as you live your normal, every day, busy lives! I find that to be very freeing and encouraging!
18 Ways To Live in Community:
• Pray for one another (Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2)
• Encourage one another (I Thess. 5:14, 2:11)
• Edify one another (I Thess. 5:11)
• Exhort one another (Hebrews 10:25, 3:13; Phil 4:2)
• Admonish one another (Romans 15:14, I Cor. 4:14,)
• Love one another (John 13:34)
• Care for one another. (I Cor. 12:25, Phil. 2:4)
• Bear with one another (Romans 15:1, Gal. 6:2)
• Forgive one another (Eph. 4:32)
• Help one another physically (Gal. 5:13) and materially (I Tim. 6:17, 18)
• Worship with one another (Heb. 10:24-25).
• Be devoted to one another. (Romans 12:5).
• Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
• Rejoice with one another (Romans 12:15)
• Serve one another (Galations 5:13)
• Carry one another’s burdens (Galations 6:2)
• Offer Hospitality to one another (I Peter 4:9)
• Confess our sins to one another (James 5:16)
That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
Actually, these are marks of growing, thriving Christ-seekers, and if we know that in order to be godly moms we have to be in pursuit of Jesus, community becomes something we not only want, but something we should make a priority.
Because we believe in the power of in real life community, and because we’ve been shaped by it ourselves, the MOB Society is offering a 5-Day Challenge starting next week (8/28) for our Tribe members called Busy Moms: A 5-Day Guide to Experiencing Authentic Community Right Where You Are.
Join us for a practical approach to pursuing community in your every day life. Not an extra thing to add to your to-do list, but a change of perspective that can enable you to make community a priority. We begin Monday August 28th, 2017 inside of our exclusive, private Tribe Facebook group. Each day I’ll be live in the group talking you through creative ways to create community (and we’ll even have a surprise live video from Brooke McGlothlin during the week!).
To learn more about Tribe membership, and how to become a part of this new study, click here!
Here’s a prayer that I regularly pray as I seek to live out this privilege of caring for those around me. Maybe you can begin praying this too!
“Father, thank you for your amazing, undeserved gift of love that sent your son to the cross to die for my sins. Please give me your heart for the people who I come in contact with every day, open my eyes to the opportunities that you provide for me to care for those around me, help me to be other’s oriented, and I pray that caring for others might become a lifestyle and not a list of things to do. Thank you for the privilege you have given me to care for those around me. Amen”
