The Power Of Community Series

I just read a headline in Deutsche Welle news which read “Germany sees uptick in people living alone.” Single-person households are already the most common household type in Germany, making up over 40% of the total. Loneliness is most common among those under 30. But this trend isn’t unique to Germany - people who move to big cities hoping to connect are increasingly living alone and feeling alone and isolated. Scandanavia is around 42%.

One global company seeking to remedy the increasing loneliness people are experiencing is called RentAFriend. You can rent a friend, a date, and even a domestic animal for a day for sports events, weddings, shopping, travel, etc., advertised as a platonic friendship. However, I looked to see if you could rent a friend in Vienna and what came up? “Sorry, there are no results in this area.”

What this search for friendship and companionship reveals to me is that we were made to connect, we are made for community. This is why, I believe, people enjoy creating events that promote community, which have a common purpose or goal, whether it’s a gathering like today, or sports events, film festivals, family reunions. Even most of the introverts I have known personally over the years want community of some sort (though maybe in a more limited timeframe). Though virtual communities such as voice calling, group calling, and online messaging can provide valuable social support and connection, more and more research reveals that live communities often foster stronger relationships, deeper engagement, a greater sense of community and belonging, improved mental health and reduced loneliness.

In-person interactions promote better well-being and are essential for feeling truly connected and supported. That’s why in this day and age there is such a need and a hunger for authentic fellowship, not in a superficial platonic way but in a deep, profound way that not only gives a person a sense of belonging but where they find their purpose in life. Fellowship on a deeper level is where people love and support others and are loved and supported.

This is simply a reflection of the Triune God designed us for fellowship. The Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have perfect fellowship with each other and created us to have fellowship with them and with each other through His Son Jesus (I Cor 1:9). This type of fellowship, the fellowship for which we were originally designed, is only possible for those who embrace God’s offer of grace, that is His full payment for their sins. Our sin separated us from God and fellowship with Him, so Jesus Himself paid for our debt of sin so we could be brought back into relationship with God.

After bringing us back into relationship with Himself, God places us into His family so that we who have the same faith in Him can have fellowship with each other (1 Jn 1:3). He placed us in the body of Christ, the local church, which is the place where all kinds of expressions of our common faith and life in Christ can be lived out (Rom 1:12). This is where real fellowship happens and just like salvation is a gift, so is the body of Christ, His church.

The Apostle Paul describes this type of fellowship in the book of Philippians:

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, 2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. 3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 4 Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. 5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, (Phil 2:1-5).

This diverse international community in Philippi had weathered some storms because of the persecution of the church and they stayed strong through it. But now they were facing some storms from within which had the potential to divide them as a church. Paul, who was in prison for his faith at the time, reminded them about what they had experienced as the community. He was saying, with the same encouragement and support you received from Christ Himself, come alongside those who need comfort and support.

Jesus is saying to us today, just as I have comforted you in your darkest moments, in your discouragement and failures, have this same attitude of coming alongside others. Since you have the same faith, the same father in heaven, you have the same mind and love of Christ, the same unity and purpose, you can come close to someone else and speak gentle words that bring hope and joy to a depressed and discouraged heart. The word comfort is apicture of a parent who leans down to speak into the er of the child to comfort them. Since all of you have His Spirit, you have the same life, you have the same heart, you have His thoughts, feelings, and love for each other - in humility, treat each other as more important than yourselves.