Saturday, August 11, 2007

we shouldn't seek the ideal community...

found this quote on the footscray church of christ newsletter today. if i read this every time i gathered with my community i would be a much better person, more able to serve and love.

we shouldn't seek the ideal community. it is a question of loving those whom God has set beside us today. they are signs of God. we might have chosen different people, perhaps people who were more caring , cheerful, intelligent and like-minded. but these are the ones God has given us, the ones he has chosen for us. it is with them that we are called to create unity and live in covenant.

(from 'community and growth' by jean vanier)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

i will pin this to my fridge for sure

Jewell said...

What a beautiful quote. This indeed is something I must remember and keep at the forefront of my mind everyday.

I think I will put it up in my bathroom, haha, on the lid. I suppose I could put it on my mirror... but the former is just so much more exciting.

billy said...

Wow, this a great quote from a great book, a good reminder about the very thing that most often destroys mw own ability to be present to others. It kind of reminds of what I think Bonhoeffer said about how our own ideas of "community" quite often become the most oppressive and virulent forms of idolatry.

jeremy joybomb said...

Wow. This sums up almost exactly what I have been thinking about lately. I get caught up sometimes in seeking out and choosing people I want to love instead of just loving the ones God puts right in front of me. It can be a struggle to want to invest the time and attention to people when I don't feel like I have anything in common with them. So, good reminder.