The purpose of community is annoyance. That is, we need our community to annoy us. Put practically, if your community is not annoying you, you're not getting all you could out of it.
This idea was presented by my Pastor during last Sunday's evening worship service. We were considering how God often uses other people to change us into Christ's image. As a member of a large family, I can attest to the truth of this statement! This being the case, you should expect the members of your community to be annoying at times. If we are not being annoyed, then we are not growing into Christ's image. Unless of course you are Jesus' mirror image, but if you are think that, you're probably not there yet.
So, how annoying is your community? If you are never annoyed by them, odds are you are not really interacting with them enough. Consider some of these thoughts on being in a community and start jumping in a little more. It's not easy and will hurt some, but it's one of the ways that we can open ourselves to God's sanctifying process.
How has your community annoyed your recently? What has this taught you about yourself and helped you grow in Christ's image?
