Creating a community of healing
FRANKLIN LIVING JULY/AUGUST 2018 —
What was the first sign of civilization?
A fish hook? Another tool of some kind? Not according to Dr. Margret Mead, anthropologist at Harvard University. Dr. Mead would explain that the first sign of civilization was a healed femur bone. Someone, Dr. Mead points out, had to care enough about that injured person to do their work for them.
Care? Concern for one another? Sounds like a Bible class, but it’s actually science. It’s the truth about human nature and living in community. We need one another!
Too often, we seek our own best interest, seldom noticing the plight of others or empathizing with one another. Yet, when renowned scientists examine human history, the evidence they point to for human civilization is empathy. The ability to walk in someone else’s shoes proves your civility.
Once we recognize the significance and importance of each individual, we ascend to the hope of our own hearts: the enlightenment of humanity.
Empathy requires perspective. Perspective is the product of wisdom, and wisdom flows from experience! How different the world, our nation and even our community would be if we could share in one another’s burdens.
Just a little kindness goes a long way in restoring faith, hope and love in a community! If we could each try to push back our selfishness and learn to think of others as more significant, we could share in the civility a community should enjoy.
Bearing one another’s burdens is not a new thought, but it is a revolutionary one. In these articles I hope to answer questions, to help us reach out to one another and show concern. We hope to bear one another’s burdens.
I love my work as a minister in this community. I get to enjoy the people who live here and learn every day about what makes Franklin County so special. It’s YOU. The citizens make this place so wonderful – your love for God and your love for one another! I hope these articles can be an encouragement to you.
If you have questions about the Bible, or struggles, or celebrations, send us an email, and let’s do what we can to build up the community here in Franklin County. We can serve one another and aspire to be a community of healing and restoration!
Trae Durden has been the preaching minister at North Highlands church of Christ in Russellville since January 2013. He is married to Leann Durden, and they have a daughter, Darcy Grace (15), and a son, Dalton (12).
