Community and Individuality

What are we most afraid of? We are most afraid of committed intimate relationships.  There is something about commitment to a group that is so hard to accomplish because I am afraid that in submitting myself to a group of fallen others, I will be lost, trampled on, forgotten, exploited. Community threatens our individuality. If I commit to this group of people, they will use me; and my opinions, my dreams, and my hopes will be squashed.  My personal freedom will be lost.  

But what is true freedom?  Is freedom the ability to do whatever I want with no limitations, or is true freedom being submitted to another?

It's interesting to hear the Roman centurions comment to Jesus in Luke 7.  He seems to understand something inherent in the nature of relationships, namely that authority is measured out to the degree that one is under authority.  To the degree that one is under authority, that is the degree to which they have authority.  The freedom to exercise one's personal will (one's authority) is the result of submitting it to a higher authority.    The Roman centurion sees in Jesus a man who has authority because he is first and foremost a man who is under authority.  Jesus was in committed, self-sacrificing fellowship with his Father. 

I propose that being in committed community is the key to true personal freedom.  A healthy community will provide deep connection and union with others (a core human need) and at the same time affirm us in our own personhood.  How do we do this?  How do we form a committed sacrificial community that gives people the space to be who they really are? How does sacrifice relate to freedom? How does togetherness relate to solitude?  I have more questions than answers at this point.

What I do know is this: if we are going to live in Kingdom revolution, we must confront the isolating effects of individuality that our culture promotes... let us commit to a deeper level, let us experience freedom by committing ourselves to each other.