Inspiration in Community

Dear Beloved,

My church community inspires me. Their stories and wisdom are crazy. Seeing how they worship, pray, and read the word is crazy. Seeing how infatuated they are with the way they walk out their lives and how God is always on their mind is crazy. They have truly inspired me. And without knowing it, they have set a standard for me. 

Have you ever hung around someone for so long that you subconsciously pick up their mannerisms or lingo? As human beings, it is only natural that we blend with the people that we hold close to our hearts. We have to be cautious with who we let close to our hearts. 

That is why being in a good community is important. Just like it is easy to be swayed to the world by worldly people, you can just as easily be swayed the opposite way by godly people.

I used to think that it would be no big deal if I hung out with certain friends or pushed certain boundaries. But the truth of the matter is that when we test our limits as Christians, we are playing Russian roulette with our faith. For example, tragedy strikes, and you don't know what to do with yourself. Our basic human reaction is to turn to the people around us for consultation and comfort. If the people that you hold close to your heart try to drown out their issues with anything but Jesus.... guess what you'll end up doing? In the same way, if the people you surround yourself with turn to Jesus and deal with their issues biblically, you'll do the same thing. Proverbs 15:22 says, "Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed."

I don't just mean your church or your school community. I mean your community...The people who you allow to impact you and pour into your life.

Our communities should inspire us to be better versions of ourselves. To push our faith farther. Our community should inspire us to carry out God's will and follow His voice above all else. Our community should drive towards our faith and keep us accountable in our faith.