33 He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:33-35 CSB)
How do we look upon those in the body of Christ around us? Do we see them as brother and sister or are they simply another person on the street?
There is a brotherhood I have written about many times in the biker world. People who we often see as closer than blood kin. This happens when you spend a lot of time on the road with others, sharing its joy and hardship. This is even more solidified in other bands of brothers that we encounter in military, police, firefighter and other similar groups.
Within the body of Christ, the church, we too should have such close bonds but they seem to rarely exist. I expect they do within monastic communities, but I do not see them in the modern church. I believe this is because the modern church and its members only share things superficially. Too often community does not exist and our churches are only social gatherings.
True community is created when there are not only shared values, but there are shared concerns and joys. This may exist more in smaller bodies of Christ, but in our large churches true community seems to be rarely reached. We talk a lot about coming alongside others, but often that is at arms length. We do not desire to bring the others close.
To build true community there must be a close sharing of life. Growing up in small towns you experience this true community which I truly miss. No, we are more comfortable only sharing in the superficial of large communities and we miss out on the intimacy and true brotherhood of a true community.
