Not all of us have experienced the joy of Psalm 133:1: “Behold, how good
and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (ESV).

There is no more powerful community than a group of believers who live in unity. And nothing should level the playing field like embracing the teachings of Jesus. He cares not a whit about color, status, or appearance. Jesus looks only on the heart. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, he offered the benefits of honest community:

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Isn’t it interesting that the challenges Paul lists are arranged from easiest to hardest? I can admonish the lazy all day long. I am pretty good about encouraging the timid. On my good days I help the weak. But be patient with them all? Come on, Paul. Do you know these people?

But that is the attraction of community. It is messy and beautiful. Frustrating and fulfilling. It is life. And it is best lived together with other messy, beautiful, frustrating, and fulfilling saints who still are quite capable of sinning. And that tees up the biggest need for community as found
in Galatians:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. (Galatians 6 :1-3)

That seems like such an essential passage for this culture as I contemplate the devastating and heartbreaking toll of sin. I know. That is not politically correct. But there is no other word that describes what I am seeing today. Since I began this project, I have seen a beloved and effective pastor
lose his ministry for the false hope of an inappropriate relationship. Somehow he stepped away from the power of grace in community and listened to the siren song of sin.

Sin says that there is more. Sin says that you deserve to be happier and that it will be true only in a different relationship. Sin says that God does not really have your best interest at heart. I hate those lies from Satan that we continue to believe.

Christians really do have a wonderful message of hope. But too often we don’t communicate the liberating joy of the gospel. We attach strings, instead of shouting that all we need to bring to Him for salvation is our sin and need. Jesus has done the rest. Paul makes it pretty simple:

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

I must begin to concentrate on the message of what Jesus has done for me. Whether my sin inventory fills multiple volumes or a Post-
it note is irrelevant. I need the Cross. Only the finished work of Jesus makes me flawless. I am wounded and need acceptance.

Lord, forgive me for my sinful judgment of wounded souls, and help me to be a light to a very dark world.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly Book