Let the power of that statement soak in for a moment. God has created the heavens and the earth. He has dressed them with the wonder of His creative power. Stars, planets, the sun and moon. There are plants, birds, sea creatures and all that creeps upon the earth. Everything from mastodons to mollusks, from anacondas to amebas and plant life blooming and reproducing after its kind. He creates man, Adam. They share life together in perfection. No sin barrier. Fellowship unbroken and free. God creates all the animals and brings them to Adam to name. Adam can cuddle with a cougar and tickle a "T" Rex without any apprehension or fear of mauling. It is a time of pure joy and communion between God and man and all of creation. Then God says, "It is not good." How can this be? If God is all I need then the Lord is mistaken as He looks at creation. The vary God of all creation declare that He is not enough to fulfill Adam. Yahweh looks at the man and says, "I am not enough for him." In His love and grace God is sensitive enough to see that man is not complete when Adam has only the Lord as his companion. God is sensitive enough to see that He is not enough for Adam.
In our western and American culture it is ingrained into the very fabric of our being that we are autonomous beings. We are individuals and are to be self reliant, self motivated and self absorbed. We have personal rights, inalienable rights, to have these rights or the things we want. Our mantra can easily become, "I am all I want, I am all I need". If my needs are not met it is the responsibility of society to make sure I have them. I am the center of my universe. Even for those who are believers, followers of Yahweh and His Son, the centrality of self can be hard to overcome. After all we have a personal Savior, personal faith, a personal relationship with God. If I was the only person on the planet Christ would still die for me alone. I have even heard preachers tell their congregation to alter John 3:16 to "For God so love me that HE gave His only Son for me, so if I believe in Him I will have eternal life." Forget about the world, its all about ME.
God disagrees. It may be true on that personal level, however, God never intended for you to be alone. Not in life, not in faith, not in salvation. Jesus delivered us to be united with others. You and God are not enough. He designed you for a community. He did not design you to be alone, not even with Him. There are times when some are left alone through persecution or imprisonment by an oppressive regime. They survive with God's presence with them. However, that is not God's design. Any of those who have so suffered would never refuse the company of another believer. After years of solitary confinement no one says, "I do not want company, I just want to be alone." Even Tom Hanks needed Wilson to survive the years of solitude.
Yet, we often live in the allusion that we do not really need others. Christ alone may sound spiritual but remember He may be the head of the body but there are to be many parts working together. Serving together. Dependent upon one another. The fear of being vulnerable, of being wounded or rejected keeps us in our holy isolation. This simply should not be. We place ourselves at great risk without the protection of others. We must have others to grow and serve as God intends. Single sheep do not fare well in a hostile world.
As the New Year is underway perhaps building some deeper relationships needs to be on our list of things to accomplish in the days ahead. Not those Sunday morning "How are you?" passing phrases but some close friends to be open with. To be accountable to. We may well need to know a deeper level of spiritual intimacy and vulnerability with a few others on life's journey. This is not my idea. God is the One who said "It is not good to be alone." That is why you are a part of a body. It is time to get connected. We actually need each other, not just God alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment