Community

I got a Christmas gift from a friend this week. It was a symbolic gift that he said represented "community". This gift was given to me because I value community and live it out.

Jake at Community Guy defines community as... (A group of people who form relationships over time by interacting regularly around shared experiences, which are of interest to all of them for varying individual reasons.)

Community is something that I believe everyone desires at some level. I mean no one likes to be alone right?
There are many communities that exist. Some are good, some are bad but almost all are scrutinized by some if not many outside the community. Some are closed and some are open but almost all are viewed.
This gift made me think about the communities that I am a part of. I do value community because with it come come so many benefits. The things that draw others to a community are the people that are in it. To me this is the greatest benefit of community.
What kind of people are you doing life with? Who are your friends?

CHOOSING OUR FRIENDS by Henri Nouwen

The spiritual life is one of constant choices. One of the most important choices is the choice of the people with whom we develop close intimate relationships. We have only a limited amount of time in our lives. With whom do we spend it and how? That’s probably one of the most decisive questions in our lives. It is not without reason that parents are very concerned about who their children bring home as playmates, friends, or lovers. They know that much of their children’s happiness will depend on those they choose to be close to.
To whom do we go for advice? With whom do we spend our free evenings? With whom are we going on vacation? Sometimes we speak or act as if we have little choice in the matter. Sometimes we act as though we will be lucky if there is anyone who wants to be our friend. But that is a passive and even fatalistic attitude. If we truly believe that God loves us with an unlimited, unconditional love, then we can trust that there are women and men in this world who are eager to show us that love. But we cannot wait passively until someone shows up to offer us friendship. As people who trust in God’s love we must have the courage and the confidence to say to someone through whom God’s love becomes visible to us: “I would like to get to know you, I would like to spend time with you. I would like to develop a friendship with you. What about you?”
There will be no’s, there will be the pain of rejection. But when we determine to avoid all no’s and all rejections, we will never create the milieu where we can grow stronger and deepen in love.
God became human for us to make divine love tangible. That is what incarnation is all about. That incarnation not only happened long ago, but it continues to happen for those who trust that God will give us the friends we need. But the choice is ours!