Hope Within Community

Hope is frequently treated as an individual activity. It is even apparent in the way we talk about it, “I hope things go well.” Part of that is understandable. Hope does have an aspect of individual to it, though God is always present as a provider.

Still, human beings are not meant to be alone. We are designed to exist in community, as God exists in Trinitarian community. This includes sharing our gifts, out time, even our lives with one another. The technical name for this community is the Church. When we attend church, it is to be in community with each other and God.

Part of this holy togetherness includes sharing our faith, which we know is assurance of hope. Therefore, we are to share hope with one another. We hope for healing, for relief, for peace, and blessings. Sound familiar? That’s because we usually do all of this in the context of prayer. If we have faith that God hears our prayers, then every concern or praise we hear is someone sharing an abundance or shortcoming of hope. This not only helps to bring strength and wisdom from God, but it stiches God’s people closer together.

Allow God to bind your Christian communities closer together by sharing in on the hopes of one another and allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough to share what God has given you.

Pax,

Paul Hart Cochran