The Paradox of Community

The life of a Christian is full of paradox. Life through death. Joy through suffering. Solitude in community. The call to follow God is a call to join the community of God, the people of God, the household of God; and yet, it is also a call to an individual and personal relationship to Him. There is no solidity to the community. The local manifestations of the Body of Christ are constantly in flux. Christ alone is the unchanging Rock of our salvation. It is to Him that each of us must cling.

Those of us who grew up in the church have spent most of our years surrounded by the community of faith. I cannot remember a time when I was not a member of the faith community. Well before I embraced Christ with a mature understanding of the implications for such a decision I was immersed in a culture of belief. The community nurtured me, trained me, was patient with me, and when God and the community agreed that I was ready, they sent me out into the world to help to create new communities of faith, to be the midwife for the birth of the Body of Christ in new locations and in new cultural manifestations. I love the Church. I have been cherished in its bosom and have seen it grow and mature in areas where it had never been known.

But along this road I have been many times separated from the community; either by geography or by vocation. The Lord has seen fit to call me out from, or away from the Church several times. Because I love the Church and value the role of community in life and ministry this has always been hard for me. But as I look at the pages of scripture I see that there were times in the life of many of the great saints of old that they had to stand alone with God. Abraham was called to leave his family and head out for parts unknown; later he would alone prepare to slaughter the son of the promise on the mountain. Moses spent years alone in the desert after spending years in semi-isolation as a Hebrew in the palace of the Pharaoh. Ezekiel kept his bizarre vigil for 390 days alone. Isaiah walked about naked and alone for 3 years because of the command of God. While these things are not normative, neither are they completely isolated.

There is a profound loneliness on the journey with and towards God. We are ultimately responsible to the One who is our Master. Our obedience to His call may lead us out into the desert alone as it lead our Lord Jesus. There in the desert He met the enemy and was sorely tempted but emerged victorious. God’s concern and plan for the Church and for the nations is individually expressed through the lives of His servants and this often has meant periods of solitude or isolation for them.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…But the reverse is also true: Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.” I am a man who has known and loves community. In the last few years the Lord seems to be calling me to more solitude. Sometimes that call has taken the form of gentle urgings to retreat to spend time with Him alone. Because my obedience to these urgings is somewhat voluntary, they are not so scary. In a sense, I define the length and type of my isolation. But there are times when God has isolated me from the community. He has forced me to rely on Him alone, to seek Him in solitude. During those times I find myself anxious and clamoring for community. I find fear in my heart. What if God really isn’t enough? What if I make the wrong move out here in the desert and there is no one to help me get up when I fall? What if I make a fool of myself? What if I haven’t heard God’s voice at all?

God comes to me and assures me that He loves me. His Word confirms that He uses experience as the best teacher. I cannot learn what He wants to teach me in community. He has isolated me to force me to face my fears and to learn that He is trustworthy. Like Elijah who obeyed and went into the desert of the drought and famine stricken land only to be fed by ravens, I find that God supplies exactly what I need, just when I need it. I will bank everything on His faithfulness.