"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3)

April 22, 2026

Dear friends,

There is no lasting community without Jesus Christ.

I thought this recently during a funeral, while listening to the testimonies of those who had been influenced by a woman who was remarkable for attracting people and creating circles of lasting friendship. She is now at home in glory with Jesus.

A good community is based upon a mix of things: virtue, love, truth, mutual humility, shared dignity, and forgiveness given and received. As the verse above tells us, these are things that come from God. We may experience them in some measure as part of universal (or, common) grace, but they are more fully and eternally experienced in the special grace that comes through Jesus Christ. They are essential parts of our calling as followers of Jesus, and they are given by the Holy Spirit. We should be eager to maintain the unity (and the community) that the Spirit gives. There is a danger that we may take for granted this community God has given us.

In years of counseling married couples, I saw people fail, not primarily for lack of relational skills like listening, communication, or problem-solving (as important as these may be), but they failed because of unforgiveness, or selfishness, or unrepentant sin, or unwillingness to change. The big deal-breakers were not poor interpersonal skills, but moral and spiritual failures. Christ suffered and died for these very sins, and the Holy Spirit brings healing for them. The unity God gives comes at a deeper level than feelings, attractions, or emotional issues.

We were created in the image of God, and we can experience much good in the way of human community. There are many circles of community that bring blessing: families, friends, churches, clubs, fraternities, guilds, veterans’ groups, ethnic groups, political parties, and nations themselves. These have brought much good to the human race, and also much division and woe. Often, community ties encircle special interests, and when these interests pass, or time passes, so do these communities. They are not eternally sustainable.

Our nation is currently politically divided. Very, I would say. Partisanship is more important than virtue. I am reminded of Amos 3:3, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (NKJV) Or as the NLT has it: "Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?" We are in a deep divide, not only politically, but morally and spiritually, as well. We cannot seem to agree on what is right and good. A true and lasting community is not mere collectivism or institutional unity, imposed from above by human authority. Nor is true and lasting community a matter of mere voluntarism, where individuals can opt-in or opt-out whenever they choose. True community is morally grounded in God's universe. It is truth over power, not power over truth. Neither is it grabbing power at the expense of truth, done by any party. It values covenant, service, and sacrifice.

No nation that rejects Messiah shall survive God's judgment (Psalm 2). I pray that churches in America will be free to preach the gospel and that Christians may speak truth freely. My prayer for our country at this time can be summed up by the middle two stanzas of "America the Beautiful"... "America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! / America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine!" (Katharine Lee Bates, 1904 version)

Even before I became a Christian, I saw some good things in my community of friends at college, although it was sustained by substance abuse and often disrupted by interpersonal drama. (It was the late 1960s.) Yet we yearned for lasting community, a return to the Garden. But the euphoria of the Woodstock era lasted for only so long. Virtue was not its strong point. Any circle of friendship that does not include Christ will not extend beyond this life.

Then I came to Christ and found peace with God. I began to experience community with other Christians, and growth in God's grace. It was different. This new community of Christians was not perfect, yet it was more stable and its vistas were far reaching. Even in the local church there is no perfect example of community in this world, but it is often self-correcting, or rather, Spirit-correcting. Even now, we can confess sins and be restored to fellowship. We can forgive others and be forgiven by others. Even now, we can humble ourselves and receive truth, and we can speak truth lovingly. Even now, we can lose ourselves in the goodness of God. Even now, we can have a high and noble purpose in life and yet not be full of ourselves. We catch glimpses of the future City of God, the true and lasting community for which we long.

Because of our Lord Jesus and his Holy Spirit, we are far more able to be patient and gentle, to persevere and to love one another like Jesus does (Eph 4:1-3). He alone is the Source of all that makes a community sustainable and eternal. I'll say it again: there really is no lasting community without Jesus Christ.

IN OTHER LINKS.

-- What Is the Magic Number When It Comes to Close Friends? The number varies from person to person and changes as we move through different phases of life.

-- Excerpts from Clarence Thomas's recent speech on the Declaration of Independence.

-- “If I want to read C. S. Lewis, where should I start?”

-- Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful".

-- Speaking of the 1960s, I found this song worth listening to: Robert Plant and Saving Grace.

FINAL QUOTE. "The secret of oneness is a Person: he himself is our peace. And when Christ Jesus makes peace--between individuals or between nations--that peace will be a satisfying, permanent, and genuine peace." (Ray Stedman)

May you have a refreshing springtime! I think it's finally here in the New River valley!

Sandy

Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.