True Christian community is a beautiful thing. There is nothing that quite comes close to being part of a group of people whom you love and who love you. It is something we can easily take for granted, yet it is one of God\u2019s greatest gifts to us.<\/p>\n
John understood the joy that true community gives. He writes to fellow believers saying, \u201cThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete<\/em>\u201d (2 John 12).<\/p>\n I\u2019ve met many Christians from all walks of life and often experienced an immediate connection and camaraderie with them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It has to be stated that the only reason we are able to experience this joy is because we share the same King and His kingdom values. The early church members were able to devote themselves to the fellowship and to living out community in each other\u2019s homes because they had met Christ and encountered the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2).<\/p>\n I\u2019ve met many Christians from all walks of life and often experienced an immediate connection and camaraderie with them. For some, after spending only an hour with them, it feels like I\u2019ve known and loved them my whole life. This is the work of the Spirit of Jesus. He binds us together (see 1 Cor 12:12-13).<\/p>\n However, I\u2019ve also seen Christians struggle with relationships within church life. Some do not experience the joy of community, even though they know the Lord. Paul in Romans 12 gives an important truth which can help us experience true community. He says, \u201cLove must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves<\/em>\u201d (Rom 12:9).<\/p>\n In the original Greek, Paul uses the word ‘anypokritos’ to describe sincerity. The word has its roots in the theatrical world of acting, where actors would wear masks and pretend to be someone else.<\/p>\n Paul says that true love is not like that. It is without hypocrisy and play-acting. It is sincere.<\/p>\n ..putting on a mask undermines my capacity to love others and for others to really love me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It is fascinating to see where the word ‘sincere’ comes from. It comes from the Latin ‘sine cera<\/em>‘, which means ‘without wax’. In later Roman times, the words sine cera<\/em> would often be stamped at the bottom of clay pots or marble sculptures. The stamp meant that the pot or sculpture had not been covered over with wax to hide its cracks or defects. The words sine cera<\/em> came to be a guarantee of truthfulness, of \u2018what you see is what you get\u2019. The genuine article. The real thing. Without wax.<\/p>\n God gives us a simple key here to walking in closer community: be yourself. Love and live without wax. I\u2019ve realised that putting on a mask undermines my capacity to love others and for others to really love me. I\u2019ve had to learn to open up my life to others. It hasn\u2019t been easy, as I\u2019ve struggled with feelings of insecurity over the years. What has given me assurance is in knowing that my validation and affirmation comes from Jesus. He loves me! From this place, it has been much easier to live a genuine and transparent life.<\/p>\n The liberating truth is that when we choose to live honestly and allow people into our lives to see who we really are, cracks and all, it creates an opportunity for true Christian fellowship and love to develop. This doesn\u2019t mean it will be all sunshine and roses. Conflict will happen, since we are not yet perfect. But if we honour one another and deal with conflict in a godly way, true Christian community can prevail.<\/p>\n God\u2019s will is for us to share our lives with one another and to \u201clove one another with brotherly affection<\/em>\u201d (Rom 12:10). The world is attracted to this kind of genuineness. A bunch of Christians living without wax will be a powerful testimony to the world of God\u2019s love and forgiveness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This article was reviewed on 29 September 2020. It was originally published on the Four12 Global website on 24 November 2015 as “Without Wax: A Look at Christian Community”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When we choose to live honestly and allow people into our lives, it creates an opportunity for true Christian fellowship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6563,"template":"","meta":{"_jf_save_progress":"","footnotes":""},"worship-options":[],"women-ministry-category":[],"featured-options":[],"current-issues":[],"series":[],"series-categories":[],"global-categories":[559,1712],"topics":[602,604,329,499,665,507],"author_speaker":[747],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/6464"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/6464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"worship-options","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/worship-options?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"women-ministry-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/women-ministry-category?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"featured-options","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured-options?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"current-issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-issues?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"series-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series-categories?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=6464"},{"taxonomy":"author_speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/four12global.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author_speaker?post=6464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Jesus, Our Reason for Community<\/h3>\n
Sincerity, a Mark of Community <\/strong><\/h3>\n
Love and Live Without Wax<\/h3>\n
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