A while ago, sometime around the start of the millennia, I wrote an essay entitled “The Impossible Task” that I posted on a website I ran. One of its themes was that it was impossible for us to accurately imagine what life in Heaven will be like. This is due to the fact that any attempt to picture an eternal kingdom, devoid of sin, that satisfies us completely is tainted by our own personal wants and desires that are born out of and grounded in our sinful existence on Earth. Despite that, this past week I believe I’ve keyed in on one aspect of Heaven that I’m sure is true and to which I am looking forward: Community.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching daughter perform in a youth theater production of Rock of Ages: High School Edition. In addition to the enjoyment of watching talented kids perform some great 80’s hits, I was also impressed by the sense of friendship and camaraderie among the performers, musicians, stagehands, and others associated with the show. They spent long, hard weeks focused on one goal: putting on a professional production. They prepared together. They solved problems together. They rehearsed together. After the performance, they congratulated each other. I realize that my view might be a little idealized, but they genuinely appeared to be a community that enjoyed working together.

It took me back to times in my past when I felt a similar sense of community. The strongest community I had ever been a part of was my high school gang. (Not “gang” like the Sharks and the Jets, or the Bloods and the Crips, but “gang” like Our Gang. Spanky, Alfalfa, Stymie, and Buckwheat.) There was a group of eight to ten of who went to school together and hung out together. We had similar interests, little catch phrases and inside jokes that we all knew. (It was like that story about the bar where everyone knew the punchlines to all the jokes. To save time, they numbered all the jokes. All someone would have to do is call out a number and everyone would laugh.)

Another instance of strong community was high school band, especially during performances. We had one goal and we had to work together to accomplish it. If we did well, we rejoiced together. If we didn’t, we shared each other’s disappointment. A few work experiences gave me brief moments of a team community. When I worked for a pizza joint, on a busy Friday or Saturday night, if things were flowing smoothly, we worked like a well-oiled machine, instinctively anticipating each other’s needs. When I worked for an inventory company, I was often proud to work as part of a team, doing my job to help complete the count.

While I’ve had these community experiences in the past, in recent years that aspect of my life has been lacking. Sure, my wife and I do have individual friends and couples that we spend time with, but that’s not really what I’m talking about here. I’m speaking about a bigger group experience. For instance, I’d love to have a board game group that meets regularly. Or an online community which might be centered around a particular game (such as an MMO) or other interest. Another possibility could a group with a “cause-based” focus.

One of the main reasons I have not experienced such community lately is that a successful community takes some effort and I just haven’t been willing to put in that effort. Part of that is due to the fact that I am an introvert. I am uncomfortable reaching out to people. Looking at my previous examples, most of them were “forced” situations, such as band and inventory work. And while I wasn’t forced into my group of friends, it was a community that grew from long hours that we had to be together in school.

Another reason I haven’t sought out community is that it is simply easier not to build community. It takes less effort for my wife and me to stay home or plan something with just the two of us than to get a group of friends together and go somewhere together.

However, laziness isn’t always the case. When we do reach out and try to schedule an event, there are several obstacles to overcome. One is a common interest. Getting a gamer, sports enthusiast, moviegoer, museum patron, crafter and bibliophile to all agree on one common activity is challenging. A bigger issue, however, is time. Between work, family and other obligations, people just don’t have the free time to spend with others as they did when they were younger. Granted, some of these “time sinks” are self-imposed (we don’t need to keep up with every episode of five different television series). Still, as we have more responsibility we have less time.

A final point that should be mentioned is that the successful communities I mentioned before–my daughter’s theater group, a band performance, a busy night at work–are typically short-term, single goal events. When the play is done or the concert is over, those who participated may go their own way and not have contact with one another until the next event, if that ever happens. In this way, what I am missing is, in reality, something that is inherently fleeting and short-lived. Trying to find something that has permanence might be an uphill battle, at least in this world.

Which brings me back to my earlier statements about Heaven. When we leave this life and are reunited in Heaven, most of those things that hinder us will be taken away. Time will be non-existent. Personal insecurities shall be no more. We will all be united in our common goal of worshiping our Creator, free from the burden of sin, and that is something that will never end. If there is ever a place that community should thrive, it will be in the new Heaven and new Earth. I look forward to that day.

I just hope Heaven has a big library of board games.

It should . . . shouldn’t it?