Did you come to know and love Jesus better during your mission trip week? I started following Jesus in fourth grade but just recently have begun hearing this word – His name – differently. I’ve begun to hear it as Jesus… or “Geez-US.”

This Geez-US word sparks thoughts about how we are to live as followers of Jesus. We’re called to be in a close relationship with Jesus and others. We are called to community. The “US” in JESUS is a crucial part of our faith.

Living in a western individualistic culture, we are drawn to a life of independence. Self-reliance is key, and we are taught that needing help is a sign of weakness. That self-centered reality complains, “Geez, us? Can’t I just do it alone? I like working by myself so it’s done the way I want it, when I want it.” Or, “Geez, us? It’s easier and less complicated to do things by myself. Then I don’t have to deal with other people’s opinions and feelings.”

Those thoughts are not at all what God intended when creating relationships. Listen to this:

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete” (I John 1:3-4).

God wants each of us to have real, deep relationships with others in our community, and in that same way, Jesus wants us to know Him.

People might complicate things. Doing life in community might take time. But it is also in those times that we learn, grow and have opportunity to love others as Jesus calls us to. In community, we can share our struggles, concerns and joys with one another so that we can experience true unity made complete in JESUS.

by Mayme McCorison