31 Days to Abundant Life: Day 4

I’ll be honest…I kept doubting yesterday’s post. I didn’t want it to come off as guilting people for having nice and good things. Because I believe God is the “giver of all good gifts” (John 1:17). He is! And he gives us all kinds of crazy blessings that add abundance to our lives. The heart of it is this: we don’t find our satisfaction, worth, or value in what we have or don’t have. Abundant life comes from living in close relationship with our Father. 

Today I want to chat a bit about community as it relates to abundant life. When my husband left his job as youth pastor two Decembers ago, there were several months in which we didn’t have a home church. It was freeing in a way, but after about 7 months, we felt ready to connect to a new community of faith. 

God, quite clearly, led us to the church we are at now. My husband has been doing his internship there this year for school. It’s been amazing to see how God has so clearly provided a community for us in this church. We connected with people quickly and God has grown those relationships. 

Here’s the thing I’m learning about community: We need it. Plain and simple. God didn’t create us to live in isolation. He created us for relationships. Relationships aren’t always easy. But they are worth fighting and working for. I believe God reveals so much of His heart to us through community. 

When we think about Abundant Life… a rich and satisfying life… I think that includes rich and satisfying community. Not perfect community… because that doesn’t exist. We are imperfect people. But we love and discuss and disagree and forgive and laugh and cry and question… together. 

There’s a lot of verses that talk about community. But I love this one in particular: 

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. -Hebrews 10:24-25

I love that one part… don’t give up meeting together. It implies that some people do give it up. Some people decide it’s not worth it. But I believe with every inch of me that it is absolutely worth it. 

Living in community allows us to experience the richness of relationship - life abundant - as we seek God’s heart together.