A Community of Grace

Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues. – John Stott

Wisdom is always lived in community.  The popular image of the guru hidden in a  mountain monastery or of the sage out in the wilderness is intriguing, but it is not the Biblical pattern.

God has gifted His people with interdependent gifts.  They can only be exercised in the body of believers.

What does this body look like?  It’s the body of Christ, His physical presence in this world, so it should look like Him.  The picture Paul paints in Colossians 3:16 is ideal:  A fellowship that is rich in the Word, sharpening each other’s understanding, singing with joy and gratitude – not just when the leader directs, but out of the overflow of the heart – is the kind of fellowship that reflects the peace and perfection of Jesus.

But is it real?  Don’t we question the validity of such a spectacle and accuse it of superficiality?  Don’t we just know there are deeper issues that the community is suppressing?

That is the beauty of the body of Christ.  If it is real, there is no suppression.  It is a more realistic danger for Christians to suppress the joy of faith in order to fit better with this world than to suppress the ways of the world in order to express joy.  And gratitude, singing, and mutual admonition do not imply that there are no problems in life.  In fact, they depend on the problems. 

God has entered the context of this broken planet to show mercy, love, and peace.  The fellowship that really believes is one that lets Him show those things within it.

Let us continue to cultivate this kind of community at Oasis.  It simply must begin with individuals, and we might as well be those individuals.  Has God been gracious?  Be gracious.  Has God forgiven?  Forgive.  Has God healed? Then heal.  The church is to mirror the Savior – the Bible calls it a reflection of His glory.

The result is a community of grace.  It lives grace, breathes grace, speaks grace.  And it begins when someone decided, as Paul say, to “let it.”

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. – Colossians 3:16

Love to you all,

From a loyal Oasis member