Simply (and complexly) Open: Focused Life, Part Four?

I have been so undyingly hungry for simplicity...still. Maybe it is because in this complex world Christians are about one thing: Jesus. That part's not complex. The complex part is the other stuff that is placed down (surrender) to do that, how we categorize what we place down, and how we try to make excuses to keeping those things in our hands. Again to Part One.

Anyway.

Thinking of life together and where our living space comes in, it's interesting: we can look at what we have (a home), recognize that the Lord has blessed us with it, and say we want to devote it's use to God, but like all else those ideas are all theory until they are given feet. Inviting the world into our home is both unnerving, exciting...and utterly necessary. That within the confine of healthy relational boundaries to say "come and share life with us." Not: "come and be entertained," but "come and be."

...And something we learn in building this kind of community is that it is not easy, but it is worth it. In his book The Intentional Christian Community Handbook (2013), David Janzen recognized the consideration, "We carry our family-of-origin rhythms, strengths, and weaknesses into community undeclared. We come from different contexts. Therefore all shared life can feel like a cross-cultural experience"(p. 44). Some are single, some are divorced, and some are widowed, some are elderly and some are young, but all are the Body. We all are Christ's. And when non-Christians come into this whole/broken community they won't find perfect examples of Christ - just living ones. Examples with flesh and bone, voices and outlooks, different senses of humor, but those with hope in the living Christ.