Community

I'm still reading tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom. I came across another great quote from Morrie that I wanted to share. It's about community. As I get towards the end of the book, which is the end of Morrie's life, nearly everything he says regards the need for community.

-"In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right?"
His voice dropped to a whisper. "But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well."-

I think this is pretty special. It seems simple and many of you might be saying "duh!". But when I read this, I thought about my life; where I've been, where I am, and where I'm headed. None of it would have happened, none of it's happening, and none of it will happen, without the help of others.

Most of us don't like to be dependant on others. We take pride in doing things ourselves. We feel a sense of acomplishment when we can say, "I did this all on my own!" But I think we need to change. There are so many people in this world that would love to help and so many that need our help! Even asking someone for help when you don't really need it can be a help to the person who is doing the helping, because you are including them.

Community. Morrie knows it well, and is teaching me, page by page.

Grace

It's interesting when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a certain 'thing' pops up over and over again. Currently, grace is that 'thing'. Here's a few things I've read recently that I've really enjoyed.

Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggresive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life - a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.
Romans 5:18-20 The Message

In The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis, Lewis writes, "Grace substitutes a full, childlike and delighted acceptance of our need, a joy in total dependence. The good man is sorry for the sins which have increased his need. He is not entirely sorry for the fresh need they have produced."