Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 

1 John 2:18-19 English Standard Version

Nothing teaches us the importance and value of community than when it is under attack.

Like a furnace, a trial or trouble will show how strong or how fragile our community life is. Friendships are either forged or destroyed in the process. When we are securely rooted in who we are and whose we are in Christ, it empowers us to stay resilient and not give up on each other. After all, condemning and rejecting and walking away contradict the gospel that calls us to love, peace and forgiveness. This is a lesson we must learn and relearn because we are supposed to be the redeemed community of sons and daughters that reflects the grace and goodness of our Father God.

The Apostle John tells us the certain people who left the church were trying to shape the church according to their own design and desire. They became false prophets in feeding on something else than Jesus Christ to satiate their cravings or satisfy their deep-seated selfishness. To them, community becomes something they consume, rather than something they are called to create together.  How do you satisfy such individuals when they feel there is nothing more their community can offer them? 

No church is perfect, as far as I know. But when we drop out, we lose our clarity why Jesus says everyone will know we are His followers when we love one another (John 13:35). It doesn’t make much sense to leave the church for no community, or for a community that doesn't proclaim the gospel of God's grace in its fullest.

We need to restore the discipline of community in this age of individualism and consumerism. Instead of being consumers, we are called to be co-creators and collaborators of a community that reflects the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. This is why the Holy Spirit gives us gifts and when we exercise our gifts to build each other up, our communal life will transform in ways that meet genuine needs with genuine love.