…IF YOUR PRESENCE DOES NOT GO WITH US, DO NOT SEND US UP FROM HERE. HOW WILL ANYONE KNOW THAT YOU ARE PLEASED WITH ME AND WITH YOUR PEOPLE UNLESS YOU GO WITH US? WHAT ELSE WILL DISTINGUISH ME AND YOUR PEOPLE FROM ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH? (EXODUS 33:15B-16)
TODAY’S DEVOTION
If there is any group of people on Earth who understand the power of community, it is the Jews. Through 4,000 years of war and conquest, peace and prosperity, persecution and prejudice, and triumph and tragedy, the Jews have maintained a distinct cultural identity as a people. This is due in large part to the fact that they identify themselves not only as individuals but also as interdependent members of a larger community.
The first five books of the Bible are political books, not religious treatises. They explain how God’s purpose for delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt was to transform them into a nation through whom He would bless the world, just as He had promised Abraham (see Gen. 12:1-3). According to God’s plan they would be a distinct people, separate from the other nations of the world in their worship, their laws, their morality, their diet, their code of conduct, and their everyday lifestyle. The distinguishing characteristic that would set them apart from other peoples would be God’s active and continuing presence among them.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Eight)
CONSIDERATIONS
1. The active and powerful presence of God in our everyday lives and activities distinguishes believers from other people. How?
2. Members of Jewish communities help each other. Why don’t believers and followers of Christ do the same? We have no sense of community. Why?
3. As Kingdom citizens we are a community, and we are dependent on one another. How is today’s community of believers different from those of the first-century church?
4. Some communities publish directories of local and regional businesses and services owned by believers. Why should believers consider patronizing only these businesses?
5. What are some of the advantages of establishing a Christian-based community where everyone is committed to serving God and each other?
MEDITATION
As a Kingdom community, we are held to a higher standard than that of the world. Religious communities often adapt and conform to the world’s standards, which is one reason they are such a mess. Kingdom communities, on the other hand, do not accommodate; they elevate. They hold out the standards of the King without compromise, and elevate to that level all who enter. That’s the only way it can be. …
In a Kingdom community, Kingdom citizens have no independent life. This is a particularly hard concept to grasp for those who have grown up under democratic and capitalistic systems where personal independence is regarded as one of the highest values of all. As Kingdom citizens, we are all in this together. We need each other. We are all members of one Body and every member is vital for the proper functioning of that Body. That is why an “illness” that infects one of us infects all of us. And that is why we cannot afford to ignore or write off any member of the community.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Eight)
What lesson can you learn from the Jewish mindset about community? Think of ways you can infuse this lesson within your Christian community.