When I was concerned that our small church congregation didn't seem to have many resources to help our community, I realized I needed to have a more spiritual outlook on the whole scene. In praying daily for our community, I thought of a little town that's mentioned a number of times in the Bible: Bethlehem. Was there a sense of community there that might bear more consideration?
I found five occasions in the Bible where Bethlehem stood out to me as particularly special. The first was in Ruth (2:1–23), where, as a stranger accompanying her widowed mother-in-law, Ruth was welcomed and treated respectfully in the new homeland near Bethlehem. This symbolized to me a community with hospitality.
Second, Bethlehem is mentioned in First Samuel 16:1–13. The prophet Samuel is looking for a successor to King Saul. God promises Samuel that He will show him what to do, and in Bethlehem David is identified as the successor. This community helped prepare a leader in whom good and even holy qualities were apparent. So I began to associate Bethlehem with an appreciation of that which is holy.
