Isolation
February 12, 2021 fellowship, forgiveness, isolation No CommentsSo, you want to get away from it all! You are tired of Covid-19 restrictions and need a vacation where you don’t have to worry about contracting the virus. I’ve got the perfect spot for you. It is Point Nemo located in the Pacific Ocean. This place is 1671 miles away from Easter Island which is the closest inhabited land. It would take 15 days, 10 hours, and 37 minutes to get to Easter Island from Point Nemo. But, the closest humans to you would actually be on the space station located 258 miles above the earth. Now, that is truly getting away from it all.
Does God want you to live in isolation? In Romans 14:7-8, Paul writes, “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
God Created Us
God is a person and He created us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27). We also have personhood and can live in relationship with God and with one another. This fact is just one of the reasons that the one, true, and living God is unique. God desires to live in covenant and spiritual relationship with the men and women whom He created. God did not create us for isolation, but for fellowship.
Sin Separates Us From God
Isaiah specifies the problem between Israel and God. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Sin causes a breach in relationship with God. It did in Isaiah’s day and it does for us.
Our Redemption Through Christ Secures Fellowship With God However, through Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to God (II Cor. 5:17-21). Spiritual union with Christ is possible through obedience to the gospel of Christ. When we are baptized into Christ, we become one with Him and spiritually united with Him (Gal. 3:26,27; Rom. 6:3-4). Our sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38). We become a new creature (II Cor. 5:17). Our obedience to the gospel is our acceptance of the terms and conditions that God has given in the New Testament for remission of sins. Through the new birth, we become new creatures in order to walk in newness of life. We become the children of God. We sustain a new relationship with God and have fellowship with Him, Christ and the Holy Spirit (I John 1:3; II Cor. 13:14). Our redemption through Christ takes away the barrier caused by sin and opens up a new opportunity for fellowship with God. God desires that we live in spiritual fellowship with Him rather than isolation from Him.
Fellowship With Other Christians
In Christ, we live in spiritual relationship with all of those of like precious faith. Our redemption binds us to God and to one another. We have responsibilities to God and to each other. We have fellowship one with another (I John 1:7-9). These responsibilities negate living in isolation. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (I Cor. 12:13). The spiritual body of Christ is the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God, disciples of Christ (Christians) are to love one another (John 13:34); bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2); do good for one another (Gal. 6:10); forgive one another, be tenderhearted and be kind one to another (Eph. 4:32); exhort one another (Heb. 10:25); and worship and serve God together (I Cor. 14:23; I Cor. 16:1-2; Heb. 10:25-26).
God created us with the capacity to live in relationship with Him. Christ redeemed us so that we could enjoy fellowship with God and all of those who share in the salvation we have in Him. The antidote to isolation is fellowship. In Christ, no man lives to himself and no man dies to himself. We belong to the Lord. We belong to God’s spiritual family. This is an incredibly comforting reality for those who love the Lord.