The other dimension

There's a tree in my yard that, in my feeble attempts to be a gardener, drives me crazy. From where I stand (that is, above ground) it actually looks like 2 big trees and about a zillion baby trees that all together cover about a 50 square foot space in the yard. It drives me crazy because all those baby trees want to pop up through my garden. Now this is not a case of a tree throwing out seeds and planting it's offspring, it's actually all one tree... underground. Down there, there is only one root system and from that comes all these trees that look separate from above ground.

In western culture, we're conditioned to see ourselves and each other like the tree from above ground -- all separate individual trees. Other cultures, more ancient cultures, have a better understanding of each other, like the tree from underground; an understanding that the group is an organism in itself, not simply a collection of individuals.

At church right now we're doing a series on worship and specifically the acts of corporate worship we engage in on a regular basis. There's something about a group of people all acting in unison, of one heart, mind, and body, that adds another dimension to our individual selves. This other dimension is to a large extent underestimated and undervalued in our culture of individuals, but for me, as I learn to see it and experience it, I am learning more about what life is about. There's so much more there than I can see from above ground. There's this whole other dimension there, in true community, that make life so much more full.

I'm not saying this is rocket science or anything, just a thought that strikes me… for what it’s worth…