The Grapes of Wrath

I have a goal of reading some of the classic American novels over the next couple of years, so I have been plugging away here and there. I recently finished John Steinbeck's classic The Grapes of Wrath. I had started this a few years ago but didn't get past the first hundred pages. This time I resolved to push through to the end. I found it to be a gripping tale of life and family and the hardships that we encounter. Near the end of the book as Tom Joad is talking with his mama about Casy, the preacher, a few lines grabbed my attention.

Says one time he went out in the wilderness to find his own soul, an' he foun' he didn' have no soul that was his'n. Says he foun' he jus' got a little piece of a great big soul. Says a wilderness ain't no good, 'cause his little piece of a soul wasn't no good 'less it was with the rest, an' was whole (535).

It struck me that community and fellowship are a necessary part of what it means to be a Christian, perhaps simply to be human. God has created us as relational beings to live in harmony with Him through the cross of Christ, and to live together with each other as part of the church. The struggle for many of us is that we think we can do it all on our own. For some reason we are convinced that we don't need God in the everyday goings on of life, and we certainly don't think we need the help, support, and encouragement of other people. In the last 18 months I have especially been reminded by different people in my life that we are each part of the larger whole of the body of Christ and that we desperately need a touch from God and each other in order to find our joy and satisfaction in the Christ-centered life that we have been called to live. Thank those people around you who help to make you whole.