When God’s people live together in true
community there is a qualitative difference.
It is good and pleasant. It is
like precious oil poured on the head—fragrant, soothing, and healing. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on Mount
Zion—renewing, restoring, and life-giving.
It is the place where God’s blessing is poured out, and where life, as
he intended it to be, is experienced first-hand.
True community reverses the
effects of the fall. It is where we are
able to go from “I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid” (Gen. 3:10) back
to being “naked and unashamed.” (Gen. 2:25)
It is the place where we are able to recapture the intent of God’s “very
good” creation. Thus, it is no accident
when King David—in Psalm 133:1—uses the same word (towb) to describe
what happens when God’s people live together in unity that is used to
describe the goodness of his original creation. (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25,
31) God’s desire for us is union, not
isolation. Union both with himself and
with each other.
Unfortunately the leap from
fear to love is a pretty big one. Few
seem willing to make it. It is hard for
us to muster the courage to come out of hiding, stop covering, and begin to
relate to one another in loving vulnerability.
Paul put it so well in Romans 8:15 when he says, “For you did not
receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit
of sonship.” If we ever want to
recapture the life of deep, true community that God desires for us—and that we
desire for ourselves—we must choose to live in love, not in fear. “For there is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John
4:18)
So let us come out of
hiding. Let us truly show up and be
fully present with each other. Let us stop
trying to fix and judge each other, and simply be with each other and listen to
each other in love. Let us open up,
rather than covering up. Maybe then we
will start to live the life God really desires for us to live. And it will be like precious oil.
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