{Be Confident} the Compass of Community

Situation and circumstance are the grounds in which satan plays. In a world of billions of people he tries to convince us that we are, in fact, alone. We can sit in a room of crowded people and somehow feel like no one can possibility understand what we’re going through.

We forget that there are other people out there, even if they’re standing right beside us. They feel what we do. They’re human, just like us.

Over the course of being alive, I’ve learned pretty quickly that people are imperfect. We fail. We fall. We let others down. Some of my biggest hurts have occurred in part because I expected a single person to have a little more of perfection than they actually had.

Community reminds us of each other’s humanity. A group of imperfect people who desperately need a savior remind us of our individual necessity. It is such an interesting process to hear someone that seems to ” have it all together” admit that they are struggling with something. Suddenly that person is taken off of a pedestal and we’re able to see them authentically – in more of the way that Jesus sees them.

That’s deep.

It’s rich.

Then comes the beautiful thing, when one persons authenticity spurs another person to be authentic. It’s as if we are in a room full of costumed superheroes. Our superhero powers aren’t something we chose- they were given to us. When one person has the audacity- the courage- to lift their mask from their face and take it off, something in the air changes. Suddenly we realize it’s not about the costume we wear, but the person we are when the costume comes off.

It’s not about us, or how we’re perceived. It’s about something far bigger than us.

We can’t do it all, and we can’t pretend that we do. Community reminds us of that. I swear one of the biggest false gods we serve is people’s perception of us. We worship it. In community we allow people to see us for who we really are, and because we’re brothers and sisters in Christ we leave being firmly reminded that it’s not about us.

Let me just say that one more time: it’s not about us.

Community is the compass in life that points us back to Christ. It reminds us of where we’re headed, by revealing where we are.

In having community we have family. We have a group of people bonded together by the same goal: Serve God. Love people. A group of masked superheroes who take off their costumes and encourage each other in the fact that we don’t have to be perfect to be a part of changing the world. Changing the world starts with a change in us. A change in us starts when we’re willing to be authentic about the condition of our hearts. Authenticity happens through confession in community.

Those who live like that are the real superheroes.

If you’re not a part of a Delight group, a church group, or Christian community, I firmly encourage you to start praying about joining one and ask the Lord to lead you to one where you can have this sort of community with people your age. It’s thing most refreshing, encouraging and humbling thing, and I want if for you.