I had the pleasure of attending my small town high school class reunion this weekend. I chose to go for one evening because the venue wasn’t conducive to a healthy Christian lifestyle; a casino in Laughlin, NV. Even so, it was nice to see old friends, catch up with our current lives, and laugh about our high school years.  My stomach hurt so bad from laughing, I considered it a full ab workout and crossed that off my list of things to do this week. It’s funny how even though some of us haven’t seen each other for years, it’s as comfortable as putting on an old pair of worn jeans.

Everyone knows I am a Christian, I tend to use Facebook to spread that message, and I have a very different lifestyle than most of those there. I had to be a good example and not bring any shame to my Lord. And, our church leadership is on my Facebook so I had accountability. These social settings are not for the light-hearted. But, I went to this reunion for a specific purpose; to see an old friend I hadn’t seen since high school who had recently reappeared via Facebook. Sadly, that friend didn’t make it due to medical issues and we all felt the loss.

Everything we did at the reunion, we did together. We ate together, we hung out together, we went dancing together, we checked on each other, and we walked with each other. This whole experience  reminded me of how important community is to us.

We thrive in community. The dictionary definition of thrive is ‘to grow or develop well or vigorously”. That is what healthy community does, it’s like plant food for the plant. Without plant food on a regular basis, the overall health of the plant isn’t at its best. It won’t necessarily die, but it won’t thrive.

Take a look at the Acts church in Acts 2:46-47, “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.”  Seems they thrived in community.

Are you in community or are you trying to do things on your own? You can …  but at some point you’re going to need some plant food.

Father, Thank You for the biblical principle of community and the blessings it brings. Help anyone who is not in community feel drawn to make a change and get plugged into this powerful resource.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.