It seems like it’s easier than ever to express every passing thought traveling through our brains, and yet simultaneously extremely difficult to have people engaged in actively listening to or connecting with one another. What do I mean, you might ask? Well, it seems to me with the usage of social media platforms it has perpetuated a new type of expression, seeking attention that desires conversation, but only at the most superficial level. I myself am a proponent of social-media usage. If there’s a dumb snapchat to be sent, I will most definitely send it with the greatest of finesse. However, what I’m getting at here is the fact that it appears our generation has learned to adopt the idea that community revolves around staring at phone screens and catching Pokemon--*this is not me bashing Pokemon if you enjoy it*--rather than actively engaging the very people you are physically present with.

So what are we missing out on here? It seems to me, like a great deal. I cannot tell you how many people I’ve spoken with who have told me that they feel lonelier than ever, and it’s not to say that social media is to blame. It’s easier to blame someone or something, than it is to take responsibility; it just seems like this lack of true community has been compounded with the usage of these platforms. We no longer have to go places to “interact” with people. We don’t have to seek out relationships, or take risks, or deliberately search for the company of others if we don’t feel like it. Social media has “connected” millions of people, while ironically isolating them in ways humankind has just begun to experience.

So I guess the real questions are, “What is true community?” and “How can we find this community in the midst of an age that seems to fight against our innate desire as human beings to be connected with one another?” Interestingly, I was talking to one of my mentors the other day and he mentioned that true community cannot be attained unless we are at peace with God. It is no wonder then, if this presumption proves true, that we have seen so much devastating unrest and hostility in human to human relations as of late. We, in our broken state, cannot be at peace with one another, absent of the very One who has written what it means to be human on our souls. This unrest and hostility is definitely not anything new in the grand scheme of things; we’ve always collectively struggled to truly love one another as God intended from the beginning. But it seems as this animosity and division continues to fester, people should be searching for the answers; not simply withdrawing to an alternate realm where they can avoid engaging with the very things that make them uneasy.

Christians aren’t called to be comfortable. We’re called to go out into all of the world. It wasn’t a circumstantial command where Christ told us to go “...if we’re comfortable,” or “...if it’s safe,” or “...if it seems logical.” He just told us to go and make disciples in all of the earth. And it seems as we fulfill that call on our lives, God will answer with a more diverse and beautiful community of people than we could have ever fathomed.

Onto the second question. How can we connect with each other in an age promoting self-seeking affirmation whereby we become isolated when we don’t receive the desired “goal” in searching out said affirmation? Well. It seems like we can start by being less interested in ourselves, and more interested in the people around us. Simple, and at the same time, one of the most challenging things someone can intentionally pursue. It appears too, that this concept of being more intent on affirming the needs of others also plays into the idea of being at peace with God, and here’s how.

God’s love is patient, it is kind, it is longsuffering. His love isn’t self-seeking or rude, it isn’t arrogant or boastful, and it certainly isn’t self-promoting. As we learn to love more like He does, it seems natural that our desire will be to see others flourish, and as those around us learn to flourish, our community will not surprisingly, increase and be founded on something much more concrete than another “like” on Instagram or Facebook. So my fellow Millennials, is this a real problem in our generation, or have I bought into a set of antiquated ideals thinking “community” looks a certain way? Please comment below, and let me know what your thoughts are.