I heard once that true community happens when we receive each other as gifts.
I’m not sure who first said it. I don’t even know the exact quote. I think I might’ve just heard it on the radio or something. But it rang true to me.
After all, how can we have community if we don’t appreciate the uniqueness each person has to offer?
I love how Paul describes community in Christ as one body. In Romans 12:4-6, Paul wrote, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
In other words, when we’re part of a community, we won’t all be the same. We won’t be interested in the same things. We won’t have the same career paths. We won’t have the same family structures. Good thing, too: wouldn’t that be a boring community if we were all exactly the same?
And, when we’re part of a community, we all have different gifts. Some might be teachers, or artists, or accountants, or doctors. We’re gifted in different ways, with different types of character. Some of us are exceptionally brave, or honest, or compassionate.
In verse 10 of that same chapter, Paul goes on to say, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
We should be devoted to the fullness of each person in our community. We should honor them with love. We should see them for the gifts they bring to the table.
What if we saw the beauty of our community the way a child sees her presents on Christmas morning? What if we saw the gifts each person brings with enthusiasm and encouragement?
What if we truly received one another as gifts? Each of us created by God to care for one another with the example of His perfect love?
I think our neighborhoods, churches, schools, and other communities would be stronger for it.
We are created to live in community. Let’s treat our communities like the sacred gifts they are.
And never forget… you are onederfully created.
Love,
Becca
