Choose Not to Be an Isolated Christian

Choices change our lives…

By Barbara Dahlgren

Christian loners may be shocked to find out that God is more about community than individualism. He models this in the Trinitarian relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is further exemplified in the grace-filled gesture of making salvation available for all mankind so we, too, can enter into that relationship.

Whether we like it or not, people are interconnected. We are interconnected with God and with each other. So isolation for the Christian is not a viable option. Christians should be coming in contact with non-Christians so they have someone to share the gospel with, but they should also be meeting regularly with like-minded believers for encouragement and edification. This can be done by going to church, a Bible study, or a small group. In other words, Christians should be meeting regularly with a community of believers.

Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and left His followers on earth to communicate His message of salvation. They did this by worshipping Him, serving Him, serving others, growing in a relationship with Him, and sharing the gospel. So in essence, each individual was “the Church.” However, the analogy might go awry when people use this philosophy as a license for not meeting together with other Christians. For not only were these believers “the Church” independently, they were “the Church” collectively, as well.

Some get turned off at the concept of attending church. They think more harm than good has been done in the name of Christianity. It’s true that some atrocities have been done in the Name of Christ but that doesn’t make it right. There is a lot of good that comes from churches. Christian churches have pushed for every humane reform conceivable which includes providing education for all classes of people, cleaning up hospitals, opening orphanages, feeding the homeless, being the first to integrate in the South, and much more. In fact, there was a time that church was the only thing that could cross the color line and get away with it.

Some use the argument that going to church will not make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a car. That is true. A local church is only as good as the Christians who attend it. But if you want your car fixed, you take it to a garage. If you want to find other Christians, a church might be a good place to start.

From the beginning, God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) There are things we gain by being with others that we can’t learn by being isolated. Loners never have to focus on anyone but themselves. That’s not what the Christian life is all about. While it’s true that people can be irritating, Christian concepts like caring and sharing are hard to develop all alone.

Consider this… Churches are filled with imperfect, struggling people. Churches are hospitals for sinners, not sanctuaries for saints. A perfect church would have no members.

One final thought… Instead of looking for perfection in people, why not look for progress? Look at how far they’ve come, not how far they have to go. If you think those people are imperfect now, you should have seen them a year or two ago.

 

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.