Why that theme? What does it have to do with my life and my life at school?
One of the reasons has a lot to do with our theme.
Our Christian faith says God (Jesus) came to earth to live with and teach people. No other faith says God did this. Most religions throughout History see God as a very distant and often angry being. They often teach we should be afraid of God. They say people, prophets, speak for God but they are just men. Christianity says God dwelt among us.
Christianity teaches that our God has had the human experience. Jesus was fully man. He lived in community as we do. He had earthly parents, siblings, went to synagogue, went to school, learned a trade. Jesus lived in a faith based community. He learned from his parents and others as well.
We are called to live in community too. We have a church community, a family community, and a school community. Our school community has an important thing in common. We have Jesus Christ and a shared faith in him as our Savior. This makes us different and unique.
Ask yourself how well you live in this community. We are not isolationists. God created us to live with, work with, and go to school with others. How do you treat those around you who are part of this community? Do you respect their gifts and talents? Do you treat them special because they are in community with you? Do you understand they need you and you need them? Do you learn from them? Do you realize that you and they share the most important thing in life, that we have Jesus as our Savior?
How can we grow our community and how can we cultivate it?
I lived in a community that grew fruit, especially apples. Apple trees need to be cultivated. I had forty apple trees on my property and they needed to be watered, fertilized, sprayed, and pruned. After cultivating the apple trees for three or four years, a crop of apples would finally appear.
The Lord knows that we grow best in Christian community. So let’s be thankful that our God is a God who is among his people. He wants to be in community with us. He expects us to cultivate others as well. This year let’s grow in our own relationship with God and with each other.
