“We’ve never had to do a complete shutdown like this…”

“…strange and unprecedented times…”

“Historic…”

These are the kinds of phrases we hear every day around coronavirus discussion. I mean, a literal pandemic is sweeping the globe! There is no guidebook for that.

That makes it a little scary and a lot weird. It means we are reminded how little control over our lives we have and how utterly sovereign God is. And it also reveals a lot about the truly lasting elements of humanity — the lindy elements, if you will.

In a time and place in which most people don’t know their neighbors and self-reliance is the name of the game, suddenly, community is cropping up.

We are checking on each other.

We are searching out ways to keep in communication.

We have seen stories of people singing on porches together, taking each other to hospitals, sharing encouragement and prayers.

I know that I have rarely been so open to the people around me about my thoughts and emotions and so motivated to actively search out the needs of those close to me.

Sure there are stories of people hoarding hand sanitizer in the other enduring human trait — selfishness.

But it is amazing that, even with our cities designed to keep people apart, our social media designed to keep people distant, and our habits of keeping to ourselves and our own business, the necessary sense of community never quite dies.

Centuries ago, people saw the need for strong communities daily because they were on the brink of death regularly. But now, we get the kind of illusion that we can do this on our own and we have everything under control.

But then, pandemic happens, and we see that we haven’t “outgrown” community yet, and we never will. 

So maybe once this is over, instead of falling prey to that illusion again, let’s look backwards to some timeless elements of community and see how we can strengthen our own even further.

We’re open for suggestions!