Alone: A Good Or Bad Thing

"But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."  (Luke 5:15-16 KJV)

Is being alone a good or a bad thing? It can be either.

Scripture tells us that it is good that people should support one another. We should not be without fellowship. We should not isolate ourselves from others but live and serve the Lord and one another together.

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." (Eccl 4:9-10)

And then we have St. Paul telling us that it would be better not to marry so we can better serve the Lord. Yet, if we can not restrain ourselves then it is better to marry. 

"I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn." (1 Cor 7:8-9)

Paul may not have been devoted to a wife. Yet, he was not alone. He served the Lord in fellowship with other followers and above all God was with him.

So shall we live alone or must we, as so many people seem to think, live in some type of committed relationship with another? 

It is good to have someone to share life with. But, in search of that special person be very careful that you are not stepping into a lonely state of being even while you are not physically alone. The loneliness that is sometimes experienced even while you are with someone can be far worse than being alone. 

Despite what some people have conjured up in their minds and promoted, no where in scripture do we find that Jesus himself was in any type of committed relationship with any one individual other than his Father in heaven. For sure, he surrounded himself with people as he served them. He surrounded himself with those he was teaching. Those are good things. But, he would also often withdraw himself from the community in order to talk one on one with his Father, our Father in heaven. "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed." (Luke 5:16)

Whether we commit to spend our lives with someone is entirely our choice. May that choice be one based on mutual love and a mutual desire to serve God and all whom God has created. 

It would; however, be very unwise to put any one person before the Lord your God. It is most beneficial to do as Jesus did and withdraw from others at least for short periods of time every day and spend time in prayer; in communication, with our Father in heaven. 

He will be there for you always and He will guide you in His ways. Seek His presence and spend intentional time with Him daily for He loves you as no other can.  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Communicate Truthfully

Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

                         (Matt 26:59-61 KJV)

Jesus was crucified, not on any real evidence of blasphemy because there was no evidence. But, that did not stop false witnesses from coming forward and twisting Jesus' words to make them sound like the words meant something that they did not mean. He was speaking of his own death and resurrection. But, those who wanted him gone accepted it to mean that he was able to and going to destroy the Jewish Temple and if he chose would miraculously build it up in three days. No one could do that except God. It was God's temple to do with as He pleased, not Jesus'; therefore, blasphemy...

Scripture requires two or more witnesses and that would mean reliable eye-witnesses, not false witnesses, to find a person guilty. Perjuring yourself to assist in finding another person guilty of a crime that was not committed is a sin. It is definitely against the law. Well; that is, it is a crime in a court of law. Whether that law is valid in every hearing today is a bit questionable. 

Apparently, lying about others isn't so bad if you haven't taken an oath to tell the truth. We hear it and read it all of the time in the various forms of media. We even hear it after someone takes the oath. Perjury, as previously noted, is illegal and could get you jail time yourself.

One of my pet peeves is the lack of ability to communicate; especially the inability to understand what others actually mean. This country is diverse whether everyone wants to acknowledge it or not. Diversity includes people from many ethnic backgrounds; from many cultures; from different generations; from various regions. The words one person uses to say something does not always mean the same thing to the person who hears it. 

One of my granddaughter's uses the words "passed out" to mean she fell asleep. I guess that is how many in her generation describe being so tired they fall asleep without trying. I've asked her not to use those words to describe falling asleep as to me and to many of my generation it means got so drunk they fell asleep or "passed out." I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about her. 

As we are so diverse, maybe it's time before we jump to judgment on what someone is saying that we begin attempting to understand who the speaker is and where the speaker is coming from. That seems to be a much better solution to some of the communication issues in this country than slandering the speaker and ending up a false witness to what was actually said.

None of this is not to say that we should not speak the truth. The truth does need to be communicated. Let us communicate it plainly without false accusations. And... if what you are relating is a joke or satire; please, present it in a way that people know that it is. 

May God help us to refrain from passing false judgment on those whom we are unable to understand or relate to. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Eighth Commandment

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

                                                                 (Luther's Small Catechism)

Don't Get Lost; Follow In The Way!

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:1-6 NIV)

Years ago, I took three teens from the correctional facility I was working at on a hike to see a waterfalls as a reward for the progress they were making. They were all from inner city Detroit and had never seen a waterfalls. They had never actually been hiking in a real woods, either. We took the well worn path with the tourists down to the bottom of the falls. But, instead of going back up the same way I decided to take the little footbridge across the river and climb the rocky hill through the woods on the other side to get back up to the parking area.  The young men started acting a little nervous. Finally, one of them asked me where the path was and how I could know the way through the woods. I guess, they had begun to think that maybe we were lost in the woods forever. I told them not to worry the path was there. Just because they couldn't see it, I could, as I'd been traveling this way since I was a little girl.

Thomas asked Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life."  Jesus is the way to our Father's house.  He is the path we are to follow. In order to follow that path, we must get to know Jesus. Yes, about him; but, we must also get to know him personally. When we've just begun to follow him in and into the kingdom there may be times that we get a little lost because we don't know the way as well as we could or should. But, as time goes on and we get to know him more and more each day, each year, there will come a time when we will know the way even if our eyes were blindfolded. Knowing the way so intimately comes with traveling the path day by day. It comes with walking with Jesus every minute of every hour. It comes by learning about him; by hearing about him at Worship or wherever we may be; by reading and studying about him alone or in Bible Study groups. Knowing him intimately comes by staying in communication with him; by speaking with him in prayer and by listening to him in the silence of our prayer spaces. We come to know the way to our Father's house intimately by seeking to follow in the way of Jesus. And, in order to follow him, we must know and trust him.

If we are not prepared to follow in the way, how can we profess to be Christians? How can we witness to others? Who would believe that we are Christians if we have no knowledge of the way in which we should be going? If we're busy leading others off on other paths they will certainly recognize that we are not truly followers of Jesus. If we know Jesus and not just about him; we will know the way. We will not get lost because we will follow in the way that he leads us.

Jesus said that he was the way and the truth and the life – no one could go to the Father except through him. So if he is the way then those of us who profess to be Christians ought to be following in the way that he would have us go.  May God grant us the wisdom to stay on the path.

God's Peace - Pr. J