Acts 4:32 New International Version (NIV)
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
We often make resolutions concerning change and growth in our lives. But what if, instead of resolving to change something about ourselves, we decided to submit who we are to our friends (the community of people around us), and allow them to speak into our lives about our strengths and weaknesses striving to be more like Jesus?
The community around us can have a profound effect on our understanding of who God is, and who we are. While many of us have folks we'd call friends, perhaps our definition of community isn't quite what God had in mind when he called us into relationship with one another.
Community means your lives are intertwined. There's someone who knows who you are, and who cares enough about you to challenge you, to encourage you, to celebrate your success and mourn when you're in pain. And in the context of following Jesus, your community is there to speak into your life, pointing out what doesn't look like him.
What is your definition of friendship? What are the traits of a good friend? Do the people you most closely associate with reflect those traits? Ask God to open your heart to new ways of experiencing friendship with others, and expanding your idea of friendship with him.
Faithfully,
Ron
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
We often make resolutions concerning change and growth in our lives. But what if, instead of resolving to change something about ourselves, we decided to submit who we are to our friends (the community of people around us), and allow them to speak into our lives about our strengths and weaknesses striving to be more like Jesus?
The community around us can have a profound effect on our understanding of who God is, and who we are. While many of us have folks we'd call friends, perhaps our definition of community isn't quite what God had in mind when he called us into relationship with one another.
Community means your lives are intertwined. There's someone who knows who you are, and who cares enough about you to challenge you, to encourage you, to celebrate your success and mourn when you're in pain. And in the context of following Jesus, your community is there to speak into your life, pointing out what doesn't look like him.
What is your definition of friendship? What are the traits of a good friend? Do the people you most closely associate with reflect those traits? Ask God to open your heart to new ways of experiencing friendship with others, and expanding your idea of friendship with him.
Faithfully,
Ron