I like using Jesus as an example. Yeah, its totally cliche but come one, it’s Jesus. Can you have a better example? No. Easy answer.
Question. Did Jesus do his whole ministry alone? Another easy answer. No, he did not. He took 12 guys with him everywhere he went. Those men were his companions, his friends, his brothers. Very obviously Jesus needed and desired community. Which, since Jesus was you know, perfect, one can safely assume that us imperfect people also could use a little community in our lives as well. Not to mention the plethora of verses implying the importance of community and how community is to love one another. Kinda cool I guess.
Moving on now, I cannot imagine what I would do without community. Without good community, I can see myself becoming a very poor version of Brian Maloy. I don’t need to go into detail, use your imaginations. But community is so central to my life. I need my alone time as much as the next introvert, but not for too terribly long. Not to mention how blessed I am. My community is not just St. Louis K-Life, Southwest Baptist friends, Kanakuk Colorado, Bolivar K-Life, High School friends, family, estranged friends around the world, or any other persons remaining unmentioned by accident, my community is ALL of those people. I have awesome Godly friends everywhere. Rarely do I have to be ‘lonely’ unless I want to. And typically my community, especially the tighter friends, we don’t have to discuss and apologize for being random and for our conversations being few and far between. Which to me shows a lot of love. We all know each other are busy, we’re growing up and have jobs, new friends where we live, family, co-workers, etc. This is one of my favorite things; getting to spend time with a good friend, whether over the phone or over coffee, and although it may be months since we spoke, it’s like we hung out yesterday. I am thankful for that aspect of my close relationships.
I have begun to realize more and more how much I love people but neglect to tell them. That’s stupid. I need to learn to tell and show those around them I love them.
Jesse McCallister, I love you like a brother, still, and I cherish our time we lived together.
Aaron Weaver, you are and will always be one of my best friends in the world.
Jesse Taylor, you live a million miles (and kilometers) away but I never feel far away from you.
Daniel Daily, one of the few people I can talk to about anything and everything, and I’ll never doubt that you’re one of the most important people in my life.
Jordan West, is a man of men who never ceases to amaze me and encourage me.
Don Hogan, I spent a summer with you in God’s wilderness and I love you dearly.
Nick Francis, you’re my oldest SBU brother and I always look forward to our time together.
Tim Watson, a man who taught me so much about Love and patience and being a man.
Travis Hague, who is the older brother I never had, I learn life from him.
Jacob Krider, who I constantly wish I lived closer to so I could spend more life with you.
Jarod Jones, who taught me so much about my faith, my Jesus, and my life.
Kurt Caddy, a Man by all means who grows young men up in Truth, including myself.
Craig Wright, who quite possibly might be my most encouraging friend in the world.
Thank you. Each of you. Thank you for being what you are to me. I owe each of you my life.
I am POSITIVE I have forgotten tons of my friends, close brothers who I love, this was just a short list of those men who I feel like have impacted me most in this stage of my life. There are so many unsaid names of incredible men who I love dearly.
I love each of you more than is even possible for me to tell you, and in all reality maybe, maybe three of you will read this, and that’s alright.
Thank God for community. I just wish all those guys lived in Kirkwood, Missouri so we could all go get pancakes in the morning.
it seems like when night comes and distractions are virtually gone, so much more thought can occur.
perfection in the eyes of the world and Christ are so drastically different.
oswald chambers had some thought on it too:
“Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship to God which shows itself amid the irrelevancies of human life. When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that strikes you is the irrelevancy of the things you have to do, and the next thing that strikes you is the fact that other people seem to be living perfectly consistent lives. Such lives are apt to leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary, by human effort and devotion we can reach the standard God wants. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God is not after perfecting me to be a specimen in His show-room; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He likes.”
so profound. it gives me reassurance when the things of this world become more and more mundane. the monotonous routine of things that there is so little eternal value in. why continue at the grindstone beating our heads against the stone for something that achieves virtually nothing in matter of eternity. — how can we be drawn back into the beauty of Christ without this struggle in our earthly lives. if life was too easy and simply ‘fluff’ then we would be a world no longer in need of a Savior. as difficult as it can be learning though the commonplace repetitive lives we sometimes feel imprisoned to, it is what we’ve been given. it’s our responsibility to see the honest love in pursuing greater more holy things. whatever it takes to further the Kingdom. i need to constantly ask myself, am i doing Kingdom work?
faith, hope & love. the greatest of these is love.
