Spirituality in Community
We're called to encourage and support each other as we go through life and follow Christ.
In this blog, I write quite a bit about growing a relationship with Christ that is personal to each of us. Each of us is ultimately responsible for our own spiritual development. We can't pass this responsibility on to others. Other people can support us on this faith journey through prayer, encouragement, and guidance. But at the end of the day, we have to put in the work ourselves to grow our own spiritual lives. And so, I write a lot about how each of us can take personal responsibility for our spirituality and intentionally cultivate our souls every single day.
Although our relationship with Christ is a personal one, we're also called to be in community with others. We're not expected to isolate ourselves from other followers of Jesus. We're called to encourage and support each other as we go through life and follow Christ. If we look at the Scriptures, it clearly shows that the early church did many things in community. The book of Acts gives us a wonderful glimpse of what that early church community sort of looked like:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” -Acts 2:42-47 NIV
Early Christians not only cultivated an individual personal relationship with God but they also spent time with other believers. They ate together. They helped each other out. They engaged in spiritual practices together such as prayer and reading Scripture. It's pretty clear that they did certain things in community. And it serves as a model for us to consider today, especially in hyper-individualized societies.
Traditional monks who live in monasteries and monastic communities would find ways to cultivate community. Of course, they would spend a lot of time individually in silence and solitude to grow their personal faith in God. But there are also times when monks were expected to come together in community. This could be to work together on something or to share meals or to engage in communal spiritual practices such as prayer and worship.
Cultivating a personal relationship with God is important. We need to spend individual personal time each day meeting with the Lord to grow our relationship with Him. But don't forget community. Engaging in our spirituality alongside other followers of Christ is just as important as growing our spiritual lives in our own personal times.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
