Committed to Broken Communities

"Nothing is perfect" is perhaps a statement that we bandy about too easily, not really giving it due consideration. Indeed, though, nothing is perfect, and that means our families, neighborhoods, schools, clubs, businesses, churches, and governments are all broken and wounded communities of people. So often we retreat from these communities having been wounded ourselves by the community's brokenness. We become disillusioned by the church, by our school, by our government, family, and the list goes on. However, if we are going to take the realization that nothing is perfect seriously, then we must also realize that we ourselves are not perfect, and we do our part to contribute to the wrongdoing of our communities. Still more we will never find a perfect community. Instead, we find ourselves facing the radical challenge to be committed to communities of brokenness. Imaginably, these communities will disappoint and wound us, as we will disappoint and wound them as well, but so it goes in this "nothing is perfect world." As broken individuals we daily set to renewing and rebuilding our communities, realizing that the solution is not merely to stand on the sidelines, or retreat, but rather to stay committed. It is easy, even cowardly, I think, to criticize from afar, but it is something remarkable when we acknowledge the shortcomings of ourselves as part of these broken communities, and then set about to helping to heal some of the brokenness. I confess my own shortcomings in too often taking the route of criticizing from afar, but it is my hope and goal to diligently seek to be committed to my communities.