Individuality and Community

Hi--I'm back after taking a bit of a break from writing. I wanted some time to process my dad's death in a time of quietness. Thanks for your prayers--I and my family are doing well. I am presently preparing for an important trip to an Eastern country to share the good news of our Lord and Master, Jesus. Please lift me up before the Father--that He will smile on this mission and use me as an instrument in His hand.

1 Cor 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

In this classic chapter, Paul addresses the tension of being an individual before God who is also called to be integrated with other individuals into the corporate "body" of Christ. Our local church body has included in our values' statement both "individual personhood" and "community". I'm so glad that we have done this as I believe it reflects two very important matters that reside in God's great heart for people. In fact, unity of substance and diversity of personhood is even true of the One true God! We are called by the apostles' teaching to avoid co-dependency (and the inferiority complex that is associated with it) as well as strident independence (and the superiority complex associated with it) and to rise up to a kind of healthy interdependence in our relationships with our fellow disciples of Jesus that speaks of a security in our personal identity (and the personal privileges and responsibilities that are associated with it) and also of the humility of heart that it requires to give our strengths and gifts away to build others up in the faith.

In practical terms, this means that we are called to honor and respect one another's quest to discover and do the will of God without seeking to over-control our brothers and sisters in the name of "unity" (that often looks more like uniformity!) I believe that this is the basic nature of our covenant with one another--to help each one find and do the Father's will--for His pleasure above all else.

I love to ponder the paradoxes and mysteries of the kingdom of God--I find them at the core of every central truth of Biblical faith.