Faith is dependent upon relationship

I've never been a fan of horror movies. Of the few I've reluctantly watched typically I can pick out who is going to become the first and the next victim. Usually it's the person who's alone. They walk backward into a closet, alone. They go into the woods, alone. They walk down into the basement that has no lighting, alone. Their isolation lures harm upon them. Alone. Isolated.

Isolation is more than separation or the practice of solitude. Solitude pulls away for a season in order to grow closer to God and each other. Separation pulls away from one thing, person or many for the purpose of moving closer to something else. Someone, though, who practices isolation cuts themselves off from everybody and everything they know. moving away from one but never to anything else.

The challenge that many of us have is that faith is such a private issue that we end up isolating ourselves from others who share it. Instead of getting plugged into a church, or surrounding ourselves with other men or women of faith. we pull back, isolate, remain alone.

God does not desire for your faith to be practiced in isolation. In 1 John we can read these words, "We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16, emphasis added).

Everything that is about faith is dependent up on a relationship. There is nothing about the Christian faith that lifts up isolation. True, C.S. Lewis reflected that if you were only person in the world, Christ would have died for you, yet the thankful reality is though that your not alone in the world.

Faith is expressed in plurality. Just in this one verse we can see the intimate connections of relationships; "Us", "we", "our" are all more than one.

We need each other. Together we are better than any one of us could be alone. Faith that makes a difference in the ups and downs of real life is one that is practiced in relationship to other people. Faith that makes a difference shows up connected to a church, to a Bible Study, to being surrounded by other people trying to figure out what it means to live by faith not by sight.

Don't go in their alone. It's not worth it.

Robert Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more of him at rohurtgen.com.