15. I have found that participating in a spiritual community forces me to give up things, it is not always easy, and I must often choose to participate because I know it is good for me.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

Do you have an experience of being uncomfortable in a community? How did you respond?

What do you find most difficult to accept in others? Spend some time thinking about this and write down some of your thoughts.

What do you think others find difficult to accept about you? Take some more time to ponder this and right down these thoughts, too.

Do you think these annoying behaviors, in others and in yourself, are the real person or are there deeper issues that create these behaviors? If so, what might these deeper issues be?

If you imagine yourself, or others, as having deep wounds or spiritual diseases that create unhealthy behaviors, does it change how you feel about your behaviors? What do you sense Jesus feels?

Spiritual communities aren’t perfect. Though spiritual communities aim to focus on Jesus and His presence in the community, to love each other in the way that God loves us, and to build each other up in their ability to hold deep and intimate relationships with God, it doesn’t always happen as it should. Spiritual communities are composed of imperfect and broken people. Because of this, spiritual communities will also be flawed. 

Our motives and desires are a primary factor in how we participate in and are shaped by spiritual communities. If we participate in community is only for what we benefit from it, we will inevitably be disappointed as we bump against the imperfection of others. When this happens, we face a choice. We can leave and try to find a “better” community, or we can stay and pursue the goodness that Jesus may bring out of the brokenness. 

When our motives for being in a spiritual community are to grow toward Christlikeness and to participate in the deepening of the spiritual community, there is good that can come from staying. Assuming that the community is not harmful, staying and facing our own and others’ difficulties, imperfections, and irritations provides the opportunity for us to grow and for the community to improve. 

If our desire is to become more like Jesus and we are committed to a process of giving grace to those people and situations that make us uncomfortable, and are willing to “look in the mirror” and address our own imperfections, then our spiritual community will be a significant component of our progress on the  journey. And as we choose to stay and surrender to the Spirit’s work in our own lives, we will participate in the deepening and growth of our spiritual community. 

God is a God of miracles who heals diseased and broken bodies, and He also can heal broken relationships and the diseases of our souls. Our part is to remain faith-filled, hopeful, and steadfast in our discomforts.