Believer, no matter how upset you may be with fellow Christians, please do not make the mistake of deciding to go your Christian walk alone.
Perhaps you have suffered repeatedly at the hands of those you thought were your ‘brethren.’ Perhaps ‘they’ have maligned you, berated you, disappointed you, or even hated you. Slandered you, gossiped about you or cheated you. It is so bad that you just want to cut yourself off from all the hypocrisy. You just want to end it all by stepping away from ‘church’ completely.
I am not holding brief for “them”, but know this is not about them, this is about you.
First of all, I would like to say that you should expect poor treatment by your brothers.
When the prodigal son returned, you would think his older brother would be happy, but he wasn’t. He said: “Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!” (Luke 15:32, NLT). I wonder how he knew that his brother squandered money on prostitutes…was he there? Even if he knew for certain that his brother did, he sounds like he hoped his brother would never come back! That is not very brotherly!
Secondly, I beg you not to evaluate the Father based on the bad behaviour of His children. As in the story of the Prodigal son, the father was a loving and forgiving father, even though both his sons were less than perfect. Neither son really embodied the fullness of what the father represented. Not the prodigal, and not the older son. Man’s misdeeds do not remove from who God is!
Thirdly, please note that you were not designed to do this alone! God did not create man as a solitary being, but as a social being because He said: It is not good that the man should be alone. (Genesis 2:18, KJV).
From creation, well before sin came into the world, God created man to enjoy the fullness of His being, not on his own, but in the company of his like.
God created Adam and formed Eve from him so that both of them could enjoy fellowship with Him together. They were both part of a whole, as we, today, are a part of something much greater. We are a part of a whole – many-in-one, if you like. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12:4-5, NLT). The place of a leg, is as part of the body. Cut off the leg from the body and it dies. It can only function if it remains attached to the body, even if the body is operating below full potential. The only time a leg is better cut off from the body is if it is dead and runs the risk of infecting the whole body. If you are reading this, I do not think that you are dead, so there is hope yet!
God created man to be social because He Himself is social and He created man in His likeness (Genesis 1:26). Adam, when alone, was not fully in God’s likeness. God is Triune: Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The Trinity is a great mystery because One (Deuteronomy 6:4; James 2:19), is also Three-In-One (Matthew 28:19). The Father has “company” with His Son and the Holy Spirit, and so is not ‘alone’.
Fourth, God asks us not to forsake fellowshipping with other believers.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25, NLT)
This was a special call for believers to get together because rough times were on the horizon. You need continuous encouragement to remain in the faith because in this present time, there is an onslaught on everything Godly. If you are not reminded why you believe what you believe, you will stop believing.
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? (Ecclesiastes 4:10-11, NLT)
The Bible does instruct us to worship and pray privately (Matthew 6:6), but also asks us to worship Him corporately.
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (Matthew 18:20, KJV)
He who [willfully] separates himself [from God and man] seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom. (Proverbs 18:1 AMP).
Whatever you do, do not walk away from His church. You were not created to operate in isolation. Receive sound wisdom, in Jesus Name!
Email me at Onyinye.cn@kda.org.ng