The Power of Community

This is real, raw footage of a wildlife encounter from an African safari (caution – this is a real and graphic encounter).  A group of people are on one side of a river watching a heard of water buffalo move upstream along the bank of the river.  What the buffalo don’t see are three lions lying in wait in the tall grass and the herd is moving right towards them.

You can tell by the footage that the buffalo sense something is wrong even though they don’t see the lions.  They stop and appear agitated just before the lions attack.  The lions spring forth, the herd turns and retreats madly.  A small buffalo calf separates from the herd and goes it alone -it is singled out as the target.  One of the lions takes down the calf in a violent tackle that lands them both in the river.  The herd runs away in fear and disappears out of camera view.  The other two lions join in at the bank of the river to finish the job on the calf and begin pulling it up out of the water onto the bank.  This small, helpless water buffalo is about to become lunch for three hungry African lions.  But the story is far from over.

Suddenly, there’s a commotion in the water and the calf is suddenly being pulled back into the river!  Now a hungry crocodile has joined the fray and is attempting to steal the lion’s catch!  An amazing struggle ensues – an intense battle for the next meal and the helpless calf is caught in the middle.  But the climax of the story is still yet to occur. 

On the far left of the camera’s frame, the herd begins to return into view.  While the three lions and the croc are battling it out for the prize of the young calf on the river’s edge, the herd has banded together and is coming back to settle the score.  A massive group of what appears to be thirty or forty adult water buffalo march steadily towards the fray at the bank.  At some point, the lions and the crocodile all realize they are no match for the power of the collective herd of angry water buffalo.  A scuffle occurs, the calf is released and the predators all scurry away for their own lives.  The calf rejoins the herd, scarred and banged up for sure, but alive and safe within its protective family once again. 

This is a sobering, real-life picture of the power of community. Strength comes in numbers and isolation is truly a dangerous place which leaves one vulnerable. Real community is a powerful force that God uses to bring his children the healing we all need.  Do you have a group of friends that will band together to rescue you when you are in trouble?  If you don’t, why not?  If you do, can you think of an experience when one or more of your friends came to your rescue when you were truly in need?