It’s early November and while my fall schedule is like many of you all’s I am committing myself to at least three posts a week. Thankfulness will be my theme and since I sometimes find myself of a cynical nature we may have to be fairly inventive in exactly ‘what’ I’m thankful for. Today’s post is easy. It happened today.
The people we are stuck with is the community that surrounds us. God’s plan is community. Throughout Scripture when we read about God being present and doing miraculous works we often find this happening in and around community. Specifically, today, I think of Moses.
In the wilderness, due to his inability to fully grasp God’s plan along with any source of humility, he is met by God. Now there is often a good bit of noise made about how God came to Moses when he was alone. True, but the aloneness was just in that moment, that was not Moses’ reality.
Moses’ reality is that he was married, had children, and had an extended family. In fact, other than his relationship with his somewhat psychotic and jealous sister, and his brother who thought he made a better leader, Moses is one of the few characters in the Old Testament who seems to have a firm grasp on solid, healthy relationships. He loved his wife to the extent that he didn’t give a rip about his sister’s selfish opinions. He did not promote his sons into positions that they either did not want or were unprepared to inhabit. And, one of the biggest, he listened and took advice from his father-in-law when he very easily could have told him to get lost. As Mark Driscoll so famously told one of his former staff members; “I can’t submit to John Piper, I have a bigger church than he does.” (by the way, the word submit when used by the very religious folks is about the same word for advice. Don’t worry, it’s code religious stuff that gives an air of superiority)
Moses fled and yet was surrounded by community. Good community it turns out, and that allowed him to lead and bless others in his life. There, in that community, God made himself known to him in a remarkable way.
Today I am thankful for the community that surrounds my family and I. Those who love and care in a myriad of ways. From our coffee shops (went to two just today) to our grocery stores, our schools, and everywhere in between; I am thankful for our community. I challenge you today to think about the community where you are and think of a few specific things for which you are thankful. You may be surprised at how many of them are due to the people that are in and a part of those places and things.
Photo by Albin Berlin from Pexels
Seek Understanding 