connect

Are you familiar with the story of Narcissus?

Narcissus was a hunter who was renowned not as a hunter but for his beauty. He looked good and he knew he looked good. His vanity was so great that whoever would try to pursue him with romantic interests would be pushed away because they were not as beautiful as he was. As the story goes, one day his bitter enemy who just happened to be named Nemesis, lured into the woods to a small lake where Narcissus saw his reflection. He became so enamored with the image of himself--even though it wasn't real--that he stayed there beside the pool gazing at himself until he died.

I wonder if this is a parable that our churches should know...

Sometimes churches can be so narcissistic (the word comes from the name of the character you surely noticed), that they fall in love with themselves to the point that no one is worthy of their presence and accompaniment. Instead of being a place where people experience deep connection, churches can sometimes flee from all "others" as if we were afraid the ugly of their lives would rub off on beautiful us.

Is your local church a place where people can truly connect and find acceptance? Is your local church a place the lives into the call of Romans 15:7:

 ⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

 God himself is an eternal community, and he has created us as his community to share community with others. This is our calling that is rooted in his nature. May we find ways to be places of honest, authentic, loving connection.