It's Time for Christian Community

The idea of Christian community isn't a new one, as the first post-resurrection believers lived exactly in that way.

For those of us that have seen this for years, it's nothing new, as we've been living practically in Christian community ... in some cases for decades.

What is new in my estimation is the global circumstances emerging that will cause people to open anew to the idea of living in community together with our lives centered in Christ.

To me this is a good thing because it'll drive people towards what it is Jesus has had in mind since before creation, and of which the Godhead lived in eternity.

Most believers don't understand that before creation the scriptures reveal some things about the Godhead, one of which is the fact that God is a community. We sometimes get sidetracked by the commonality of creeds pointing to the Trinity as a doctrine, that we miss it was a practical way of life for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit before time and creation. It's the basis and model for how we are to live on this earth today.

As for what will drive this going forward, it's the realization, especially in western nations, that we will have to learn to cooperate and work together locally because the Federal government won't be able to support the promises it has made. The support systems many people have wrongly been relying upon for years, are going to crumble.

That means it'll be at the local level we have to take care of our lives in an environment that has lost much of the aid formerly given by the government.

While that will be true for everyone, it'll especially be true for Christians who will base their move towards community on the person of Jesus Christ and His purpose He has always had for us - that we will be a community of believers sharing life together with Christ as the center of our lives.

For those Christians reading these words, it's best to see these things from the scriptures, which throughout speak to God's people in this manner over and over again. That way it'll be beneficial to us because we see it as a revelation from God, and not something we have to do to survive.

If that's all that causes us to live one to another, once the difficult times get better, we'll simply go back into the old, unbiblical way of doing the attendance-based going to a building, rather than sharing our lives together in Christ on a daily basis.

We need to see this as a wake up call from God to commit to one another move towards living a life as a community together, not as a bunch of individuals going to a meeting once or twice a week.

Jesus died for much more than we are seeing in what people think is the church today. He died so He could share His very life with us, by coming to intimately dwell within each true born again believer. That life is then meant to be lived and shared together daily by His people, who are called to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Christ.

That is the vision, that is the calling, and in the end, that really is what is called the ministry. It is the daily caring and sharing of life together centered in Christ that is what God has called us to, and the circumstances on the earth are such that it's ripe for a time of harvest concerning Christians and community.

What is there that should hold us back from this? Nothing! If we'll truly die to ourselves and live unto Christ, it won't be a difficult decision to make. Speaking from experience, it can be hard at times, but the fruit, life, love and family life that comes out of it is something that literally is not of this world, and surpasses anything that this world has to offer.