Loneliness, Pt. II

I was surprised and encouraged by many of the comments from my last post...so, I might be lonely, but at least I'm not alone.

One thing that Danny mentioned that was extremely important was that many of the people from Christian history have led lonely lives, and yet wouldn't trade a second of it for company. Ben also asked the question if it is the nature of holiness to lead a life of loneliness, or if it is just our generation. I think it is both.

I think in our earnest pursuit of Christ, we as ardent Christians will quickly outrun the people who do not care as much. I say this not to puff up all of our egos as 'super-Christians', but I don't think that's what will happen. I say this simply to analyze and diagnose the situation.

If you are running a race, and soon find that everyone else is walking, that is no reason to stop running. You are running for the prize and the goal, and stopping for company is no excuse for not doing your best. Its a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless.

I also find comfort in a few things I learned from my study of Celtic Christianity during my stint in Scotland. One of them is the concept of Jesus being with us all the time, whether we know it or not (see Luke 24:13-35, the Road to Emmaus, for a Biblical account of this). Jesus is by our side all the time, but we as Western Christians forget that all too often. The Celts understood Jesus to be with them always, which greatly affected not only their theology and understanding of missions, but their understanding of community and friendship.

One woman in an outlying region of Scotland was met by an author once, and she had a picture of Jesus up on her mantle. When asked about it, she pointed to the picture, saying "oh, I'm not talking to him right now...I asked him for something and he refused to give it to me, so I'm letting him cool his heels for awhile." May we all have that conversational and familiar relationship with our Savior.

Another aspect is that of community and missions. For the Celts, monasteries were not something to enter for life, but rather part of the tapestry of life. There was a cycle, involving solitude with God, community with fellow Christians, and mission work to the unreached. The monks may (or may not) have vows of celibacy, but they would wander great distances, preaching and spreading the gospel of love, often alone, sometimes in small groups. After several months (or longer, depending on the monk), they would then go to an area of complete solitude for another couple of months. This solitude would enable them to spend time in prayer and meditation, focusing once again on God. After a time in solitude, they would go to the monastic community and spend time there, being refreshed and energized by friends and loved ones.

Our Western culture is highly mobile, with us only spending a few years in one place. By moving so constantly, we cannot sink our roots deeply into an area or into a specific community. Either we move on before that happens, or the others around us do. I think perhaps our testament as Christians could be to stay for extended periods of time in one place, as an example of dedication to community.

All of this are just ideas and thoughts on community, loneliness, and ministry (not necessarily laid out in a particularly well organized form, either). I encourage dialogue on the subject, as well as thought and prayer. I am also not adverse to all of you moving down to Australia with me, so we can form our own community here. Anyway...yeah. More to come on this in future posts, I suspect.