Monday, May 25, 2009

Jeremiah Root?

One of my all-time favorite movies is Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford. Talk about a classic! Like Groundhog Day, I watch it at least a couple times a year. I love the toughness and total independence of JJ whether he's dealing with the severe terrain and weather of the Rockies, a wild grizzly, or the multiple attacks from the Indians who attempt to gain glory by killing him. I watch and think - I could do that! Then, after sober reflection on reality and setting aside Indians and grizzlies, I couldn't stand to be that alone for that long. I like people. I love my friends and family. I love my church family. Yes, I like my quiet time - especially in a deer stand in the Fall, but I love to be around the people I love - and who love me back. I feel pretty sure that God calls that "church".
Yesterday I made this statement in my lesson. "People don't choose to be loners because they like it, they choose it because they don't know how to make and build relationships." I believe that. God made us to want and need one another. Those who seek to be alone, and feel good about it, are simply people who have learned to rationalize their inability to socialize. I'm sure there are exceptions, but not many.
I don't say that to be critical of anyone, but rather to point out that a lot of folks need help. That person sitting alone at the end of a pew during your Sunday morning assembly really doesn't want to be alone - except to the extent it saves them from the discomfort they feel about their inadequacies in relationship building. I guess what I'm saying is that real, loving outreach may only be feet away rather than down the street. The assembly is a togetherness event. Church is God's plan for spiritual relationship building. Some don't want, and that's wrong - and sad. Some don't know how, and that's mission we must not ignore.

1 comment:

Deborah said...

What a great point. I've never thought about this before.