Community: Meeting at the Gate

One of the charges that the LORD God gave to Israel was to write the contents of His Law to them on their doorposts, and also on the gates of the city where they happened to be.  (See Deuteronomy 6:1-9, for example)  It was at these gates that the elders of Israel would go, to meet with the people, to hear disputes, and to make judgments on what God's law said pertaining to whatever the people might ask.  In essence, the elders were to go out to the gates and pretty much engage with people, answering their questions, and making themselves available.

This is perhaps one of the more difficult lessons to teach those of us raised in North America.  We've been raised and taught to be productive with our time.  So sitting around simply engaging people in conversation, listening to their needs and thoughts, and building up relationships with them may seem like a waste of time.  And yet, this is perhaps one of the weakest components of our western society.  We simply do not place a great value on sitting around in conversation with others.

Yet, if we look at spending time with people in this kind of way as a waste of time, is it any surprise that we really don't know how to relate to others?  Throughout this week, I have been talking about being a community of faith in Jesus, and of the interpersonal relationships that calls for.  It would seem that, if we are to really become the body of Christ, or a community of faith, simply spending time with each other is vitally important.

True, if we spend our time with people to avoid doing other things that we should be doing, then we have problems.  But there is such an important part of our life spent in social interactions with others.  It's hard to share tough times in life with someone you don't know well, but if you have never tried to get to know people, should it be any surprise that you don't have anyone with whom to share such moments?

Who can you make time to spend with this coming week?  Not for any particular agenda, but just simply to grow in relationship with them.  Give it a try!