Comments on: Backyards and washing machines

By: THE SPACE BETWEEN MY EARS

THE SPACE BETWEEN MY EARS — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:56:17 +0000

Theological Reflections on Home Ownership, 6: Community…

As I laid out in the previous posts of this series, to look at home or any property with a radically privatized view of it would be unbiblical. We see over and over again in both the Bible and in the writings of Christians throughout the centuries tha…

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:06:15 +0000

You’ve got some sweet neighbors. Sometimes that’s all it takes :^)

By: mamatoo

mamatoo — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:03:29 +0000

Thank you for stating this so well! I have been thinking about this for quite some time, and one thing I’ve found surprising is the difficulty of receiving.
I have thought a lot about the passages in Acts that comment on “they had everything in common,” and “they shared all they had” and “none were in need.” This implies that some had more than enough, and some needed to accept this overflow with thanksgiving.
Not only did you share what you had, but you recognize and accept other’s offers of hospitality, too. In accepting from others, we humble ourselves and receive with thanksgiving. This honors the true Provider.
Grace is a free gift, and we can only receive from our Lord, never repay. Whether laundry or yards, we must be willing to outstretch our hands and receive from each other. In doing so with tangible items, we model the reality of our spiritual hope, too.

By: julia

julia — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:49:59 +0000

hmmm. i like that. i don’t think i have ever thought of it that way before. community can be such a great thing but too often we don’t use what resources we have

By: erika

erika — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:33:46 +0000

Maria,

A definite yes to the sharing of baby paraphernalia!!! We have had a lot of babies born in the last few years in our church, and I have seen some amazing sharing of everything to the point that many of us don’t even remember what was originally “ours”. Oh, and maternity clothes for sure!!!

Dustin,

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I think more people need to ask these questions and really examine cultural/social norms like home ownership from a biblical perspective. My friend Tyler has done that in a series on his blog which I totally commend to you (http://spacebetween.blogsome.com/)

By: Tyler Watson

Tyler Watson — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:29:16 +0000

Thanks for this post.

By: Beyond Words

Beyond Words — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:23:50 +0000

When Christians wrap their minds and hearts around this, they will truly be living out a part of the gospel that had long been dormant and even perverted. Thanks for putting it so eloquently.

By: kent

kent — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:09:20 +0000

Imagine if we shared cars, lawn equipment and other items we use periodically? Generosity seems to lead to community.

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:46:01 +0000

As I read this tonight I chuckled. My friend just dropped off her clothes in a bag next to my chair as I type. Ah the college years! I agree with so much that you write it feels cliche to say: YEAH MAN YOU’RE RIGHT! hahaha, but yeah man you’re right.

By: Dustin

Dustin — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:41:42 +0000

I think the questions you are asking yourself are the questions we all need to be asking ourselves, even to the point of asking whether owning property is really a worthy “investment” for a person of faith. I know that I have wrestled in my own head with the idea of owning property, whether individually (a home) or corporately (a church). It just seems to me that if time is short and our days are numbered, community, ministry and caring for humanity would be better uses for that money.

Just my $0.02 though