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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Does finding rest in community sound counterintuitive? We have talked about some very individual ways to engage in rest the last few days. After all, sleep and solitude don’t really match up with connection and community! They do help prepare you, however, to find rest in this very special way.
We find connection in community. We can also find that Jesus calls us to be in community with him! I have learned having other faithful believers in my midst helps me see how Jesus is my one place for rest. Community connection is a beautiful give and take of carrying each other’s joys and burdens as we are told in Romans 12:15, and it is a reminder of what Jesus tells us in scripture:
Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus doesn’t tell us to be alone. He tells us to come to him for rest. Even in the other rest habits of sleep and solitude, we know we are truly never alone.
As all of us are called to be Christ’s ambassadors, one of the ways we can do this is by considering the simple words come to me. How are you opening yourself up to the rest habit of being in community? Are you in a small group at church? Do you have a Bible study that you participate in? Maybe you are part of one of our ministry offerings here at The Christian Working Woman.
The most important part of being part of any community is being consistent. You cannot reap the benefits of having someone rejoice with you or weep with you if you do not connect consistently. This is one of the things Jesus was so good at. He was always on the ready!
And think of all the ways we see him in community with his disciples. They attended a wedding together, they dined together, they celebrated important holidays together, they traveled together. Each and every opportunity was a chance for the disciples to get to know the heart of Jesus more and more.
We have focused on small daily habits that can help us find more rest. I know being in community like the disciples isn’t a realistic daily habit most of us can employ, but what about even one person? Do you have a connection in faith that can help you see Jesus?
Is it sending an encouraging text to let someone know you are praying for something specific? Perhaps you can bring this person a meal during a stressful season. Even a greeting card can go a long way in making a person feel loved.
After all, the greatest commandment is love. In great love, there is great rest.
