Today was a busy day for me. After class I went to a meeting for a friend and then after the meeting worked the foundation booth at red raider orientation. I'll stop here because that's what I wanted to talk about. As we met with students that came up to our booth interested in foundation I looked out and began thinking. See there are TONS of organizations on the Tech campus over 400 actually. There are religious, ethnic, political, etc. Next to us was the hispanic student organization, across from us was the black students organization, behind us the catholic student organization, and also several different greek organizations. I watched as Christians obviously came up to our booths, blacks to the black studnet organization, hispanics to the hispanic student organization, students interested in outdoor stuff to the outdoor pursuits booth etc. Each and every student looking for the place they would belong. The organization they could walk up to and know that they fit in. My sociological mindset was so intrigued. Each of us has a longing and a desire to be loved, to fit in, to belong. It reminds me of a book I read for my IHOP internship about a year ago, Passion for Jesus by Mike Bickle. Bickle discussed 12 desires that each human has that God placed inside of us to draw us back to Him. The book was amazing and I could talk for quite some time about all I learned from that book, but for the purpose of this blog I'll just stick to one point. The book said that one of those longings was the desire to belong, to be wanted, to be loved. See God put that desire in us because He wants us, He loves us, and with Him there is peace. The thing is probably 85% of the students I saw walking around to different booths today aren't getting that reassurance from the Lord and inside of them they're craving for more, it's highly likely that even the Christians are craving that, because we crave community as well.
On a personal note I in my great desire to throw cultural norms off had the greatest desire to walk up to an organization for another ethnicity and ask what it took to join or perhaps to a fraternity of some sort, anything to make someone uncomfortable. I find that sort of thing appealing, almost like standing backwards in an elevator or sitting in a chair next to someone rather than taking the open one across the room.
So what's so wrong, if anything, with this great need for belonging? I don't think there is, I think what we see is another classic case of the enemy taking something good and smacking it up with sin. Community is a great thing, it's biblical. Iron sharpens iron, a cord of three strands is not easily broken, two is better than one... and this isn't even mentioning all the times in the NT where it talks about coming together. Groups and organizations can accomplish great things. Just Foundation itself, it doesn't only change people for the 4 years they are @ Tech God uses it to change lives for eternity and a lot of it is done through the community that is found after camp.
Community is essential to the Christian and I think so many times we don't even realize it. Alone and left to ourselves many times the battle of our minds overcomes us. But when we apply the word of God that says confess your sins to one another, encourage one another, etc. so much power is found, so much encouragement to keep on keepin' on. There have been many times in my walk that I have grown weary in doing good even though I knew the scriptures and it was a friend who stepped up and encouraged me.
I wish we stressed more to our youth how important Christian community is. I wish we understood it more for ourselves.
J. Tate
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