By Virginia Forste

 

Bonanza (1959), The Andy Griffith Show (1960), All in the Family (1971), Happy Days (1974), Dynasty (1981), Cheers (1982), The Cosby Show (1984), Seinfeld (1989), Friends (1994), Survivor (2000), Lost (2004), The Office (2005), Parks and Recreation (2009), Stranger Things (2016) . . . what do all these TV shows have in common?

 

I propose that a key ingredient in any hit show or movie is community. We tune in to see how the characters face the challenges of life. I won’t forget when Jesse Spano from Saved by the Bell (1989) took drugs so she could stay awake all night to study, or when Andrea Zuckerman tried to date Brandon Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). Shows like these may seem like just a way to zone out from a hard day at work, yet some scenes take up permanent residence in our memories.

 

There are movies that start as a single character fighting an enemy, whether that is a horde of zombies, a virus, or isolation itself. In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks’ character, Chuck Noland, finds himself washed up on a deserted island following a plane crash. After years of isolation, he “befriends” a volleyball named Wilson. In I Am Legend, Will Smith’s character, Dr. Robert Neville, is so lonely that he visits an abandoned clothing store and chats with mannequins and even gives one of them dating advice.

 

Humans were made for community. Let me say that again—Humans were made for community!

 

God With Us

Community has existed from the beginning. In the first chapter of Genesis, we find these words: “God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground’” (Genesis 1:26, NIV, emphasis mine). God was in community with the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Then God created Adam: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7, NIV). God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and gave him the instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then God created Eve from Adam’s rib because, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18, 21, 22, NIV). Unfortunately, after this, Adam and Eve sinned by eating from that taboo tree and sin entered humanity. The first couple enjoyed perfect community between themselves and God and each other but sin damaged both relationships.

 

Many names for God describe his character, but he came as flesh and blood as “God with us,” not “God of many words” (though he did give us his Word); not as “God of healing” (though he did heal many); and not as “God of a bread and fish buffet” (which he produced at least twice!). God. With. Us.

 

When Jesus was about to be arrested, he asked three of his disciples to accompany him to the Garden of Gethsemane. He didn’t want advice, he desired community. Even though he had constant community with his Father, he wanted flesh and blood with him during his personal turmoil.

 

When God allowed Satan to test his servant Job by destroying his crops and livestock, kill almost all of his servants, wipe out his family, and inflict painful boils on his entire body, Job needed the comfort of his friends. And they did a great job, at first: “When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:12, 13, NIV). Job’s friends were rebuked only after they started sharing their various theories of the origins of Job’s troubles. When our friends are hurting, maybe that “I don’t know what to say” feeling we get is a signal that we should say nothing after all.

 

We Need Each Other

Every few months there seems to be another news story on the “epidemic of loneliness” or the harmful impacts of social media. Isn’t that ironic? We are connected in so many ways and yet we can get so lonely. I think there’s one step we can take in resolving this problem: we show up for each other.

 

Perhaps the most well-known verse of the Bible, John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV). God tells us what community means in Emmanuel, that “God is with us.” Of all the created things that God could have sent us, he sent a person to BE with us. In John 14, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit when he says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16, 17, NIV, emphasis mine). Jesus left the earth so that the Holy Spirit could BE with us.

 

In our times of greatest suffering, we do not need someone’s opinion, judgment, or even wisdom—we need each other. We need hugs and togetherness and silence. The truth is that you will never have the right words to heal a hurt. Only God can do that. Let’s not get so hung up on finding the right words that we withhold community from a hurting loved one or friend.

 

Whether you are hurting or not, Christ’s Church has many opportunities to be in community with others through sharing, serving, or learning together. Simply click here for a list of groups that may be the right fit for you. Some of our groups take place online and some in person. And this link will take you to a list of events and Bible studies.

 

Why do I serve at Christ’s Church? Because community came first. When Jesus called his disciples, he called them to himself, then to a small community. And, then they were sent out to a greater community and then the region. Isn’t it neat how community is at the heart of it all? Don’t get “Lost” in a world of disconnection, come join us and experience the “Happy Days”!

 

Virginia Forste is a former elementary school teacher. She enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and leading Moms’ Group.