Why Be Good When Your Best Isn't Good Enough?

I miss my community. We were about 10 different "body parts" who'd made a commitment to learning more about Christ and what it means to be His body, and a commitment to each other to provide a safe place for accountability and vulnerability. Oh we weren't perfect at it, nor did we have a lot of accountability in the group as a whole (but we each probably had one or two other individuals with whom we were).

It's been almost a year since I moved away. Other people moved too, and things have changed, and the group doesn't really exist anymore. I can't go back. But I want to go forward...I want to find community again.

I see my life and patterns of relationships as a big triangle. I'm the bottom-left corner, God is the top corner, and you are the bottom-right. I think a lot of people tend to minimize the importance of that horizontal relationship between self and others. Part of being made in the image of God, in my opinion, is that we need, desire, and somewhat define ourselves by our relationships-with God of course, AND with other people.

Further, I believe there's a connection between these relationships with others and this relationship with God. We relate to God together. Our relationships with other Christians should help us to glorify God, learn more about Him, worship Him together, lead still others to Him. We're different body parts-and we need to think about each other, care about each other, understand each other, encourage and help each other...so we can really work together and be effective as the body of Christ.

So, maybe it's not quite a regular triangle, but more like the bottom line points up to the top-as we relate to other Christians we relate to God together (think Star Trek logo!).

So, I’ve been looking for community again. And I'm thankful I'm beginning to have some success in finding it, although it's a slow process I know. But I've come across more than Christian one who either does not or cannot see how important that horizontal(ish) relationship is. It's like a "some assembly required" bicycle with all the parts strewn out on the floor, and they don't understand that you have to put the parts together to make something that works.

Why can't they relate to others? Or why won't they? Don't they know they're body parts...and they need the other parts just as much as they are needed themselves? I'm sad and brokenhearted about this today. I feel like a part of myself is missing as I've been trying to relate to these people, but without reciprocation.