A while back I read C.S. Lewis’ Weight of Glory. In that volume he has a chapter called The Inner Ring and that’s where the basic concept of this post comes from.

Most of us know what the inner ring is. It’s that circle in your school, in your work, in your church, in your family or whatever other contexts you may be in that everybody wants to be a part of. It’s the popular crowd. If you’re in it, you know it and if you’re not, you know it. The people that are in it don’t want to openly acknowledge that they’re in it but they like the fact that they’re in it. Something inside all human beings wants to be a part of that inner circle. There is just something about that elite status and exclusivity that appeals to something deep within us. If you would like to read the essay by Lewis, you can find the whole thing here http://www.lewissociety.org/innerring.php.

I believe that the reason that we want to be a part of the inner ring is because we are called to be a part of the ultimate inner ring. At the center of the whole universe is God and most openly acknowledge that God is Triune. We may not understand the Trinity and now isn’t the place to try to figure it out but God has community in and of himself. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the ultimate inner ring. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we have been graciously invited into the fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no inner ring that is more elite than this one and you have been invited because of grace and not because you’ve earned it.

What is the inner ring in your family, at your church, in your workplace? The desire you have to be in it isn’t wrong but only misdirected. Spend some time meditating on the amazing reality that God has called you into the fellowship of the inner ring that exists at the center of the universe. What could be better than that?

We all know that the unhealthy inner rings that exist can create a lot of damage. They create pride, exclusion, inferiority, jealousy and all kinds of other things. I wish I could say that this struggle has not made it into our churches but we all know that would be a lie. Cliques and inner rings abound in all kinds of areas and with all different kinds of people. It’s not wrong to have circles of friends but it’s the nature of the value that we place on those circles where things get messed up. If we will put the proper value on the true inner ring then it will begin to properly contextualize the other circles of relationships that exist in our lives.