Morning Prayer Reflection: Do we recognize ourselves as part of a community in Christ?

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20

Jesus exists in community. Even the Trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son & Holy Spirit is communal. The implications for this are astounding as we drift further and further into individualism and isolation. We cannot exist in Christ outside of community - period. This is the fundamental answer for why we need "Church," of why we cannot exist as genuinely faithful people outside of a community of faith. Spiritual, but not religious, only gets us part of the way there. God does not exist in a vacuum for our experience alone. Our relationship with God, with Christ, depends upon how we interact with those around us. More than once we hear Jesus allude to this. "Forgive one another, love one another, proclaim the gospel to one another"...never does he say "leave one another."

It is easy to move on when we feel we are not getting something for our efforts. Sometimes, being in community, it is more about giving than receiving. (I think even Jesus mentions something about this...) Do we recognize ourselves as part of a community in Christ, or just as individual "Christians"?