Copyright by Shea Oakley<\/p>\n
All rights reserved<\/p>\n
There are times in the lives of every one of us when we must seek to be alone with God. Solitude is not an option for the serious Christian, it is a necessity.<\/p>\n
This need for solitude is in no way contradictory to the urgent drive for more genuine community in the contemporary church. Human beings need both meaningful time with, and periods of seclusion from, one other. Solitude is not synonymous with isolation. The latter is the bane of modern existence. A constant and pathological estrangement from our fellows is symptomatic of the deeper alienation to which modernity lends itself regarding the human heart. Isolation is usually not voluntary; it is far more often a state which individuals find themselves in, at least to some degree, contrary to their own will. The remedy to isolation is likely a return to the communal values of early Christianity that are so lacking in the hyper-individualistic West today.<\/p>\n
The often unmentioned flip side of unhealthy isolation is an equally unhealthy need for constant social interaction. Some people feel they can only endure the absolute minimum amount of time apart from others that is necessary for propriety, even if that means invading the legitimate boundaries of other\u2019s privacy. These are the men and women in our congregations who push so hard for constant \u201cfellowship\u201d that they ultimately alienate others. Such individuals cannot stand the thought of time spent only in their own company or potentially in the singular company of God. They almost make an idolatry of human relationship for its own sake, and in the end that obsession leads only to their own harm.<\/p>\n
No spiritually and psychologically healthy man or is \u201can island,\u201d but neither is he always compelled to be with other people. Instead such a person is one who understands the need for both human and divine companionship, and not always at the same time. Balanced Christians seek \u201calone-time\u201d with the Lord to recharge their spiritual batteries and to rest from the sometimes incessant demands of human society. Such alone-time can also be described as solitude<\/em> \u2212 the voluntary removal of oneself from others in order to seek repose and restoration in the presence of God.<\/p>\n Solitude requires more than just being absent from the physical presence of others. It involves being removed from their \u201ctele-presence\u201d as well. It means turning off the television, silencing the cell phone and logging off the Net. We live in an era when we can choose to be continually connected to communications media (some individuals even go so far as to install a TV in their bathroom<\/em>.) Real solitude cannot exist in the presence of a constant audio\/visual stream. It requires the complete, if temporary, removal of all the trappings of our electronically \u201cplugged-in\u201d culture. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is simply venture outdoors. Nature lends itself to solitude. A hike up a mountain or a long float on a lake can facilitate the kind of quiet that allows us to clearly hear from God.<\/p>\n Whether it is achieved through the great outdoors or simply a purposely silenced home, the balm of solitude is vital to the believer. It reminds us that the vertical element of Christianity must come before the horizontal one. We are to love God above and beyond our fellow man (though, paradoxically, loving Him first<\/em> enables us to love others best<\/em>). We are to seek Him and Him alone, as our greatest priority. This is simply impossible without separating ourselves from others for a time.<\/p>\n Once we recognize solitude for the great good it is, we can pursue it both without guilt and with anticipatory joy\u2212 for in pursuing solitude we pursue and find our Lord. Then, after we commune with Him in the quiet place, we can return to the company of our fellow human beings as men and women refreshed and transformed, ready once more to commune with one other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Copyright by Shea Oakley All rights reserved There are times in the lives of every one of us when we must seek to be alone with God. Solitude is not an option for the serious Christian, it is a necessity. This need for solitude is in no way contradictory to the urgent drive for more… <\/p>\n