The Faith is Never Alone

I’ve come to the conclusion that the Christian faith cannot be practiced alone. It’s impossible. In our “personal relationship with Jesus” individualistic culture, that seems anathema, but you just won’t find that kind of individualism in the Bible.

The First Problem

The problems begin in Eden when Adam & Eve decide to go their own way, which isolates them and is expressed in trying to hide from God. They should’ve known. Of all people, they should’ve known! The first lesson taught to a human being is, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” That should clue us into the importance of the community of faith. When David is alone instead of out with his soldiers, he gets into trouble. Peter and Judas fail when by themselves. Time and again, those who try to live out their faith alone run into trouble.

On the other hand, God emphasizes that we’re not alone. His message to Elijah isn’t so much, “I’m with you,” but, “Thousands are with you.” Even Elisha finds companionship during a famine serving in a widow’s house in Zarephath. Paul reminds us repeatedly that we are the body of Christ, that we need each other. And there’s nothing alive or beautiful about a bunch of disconnected body parts.

Good or Essential?

But that just means that community is good, right? Not that it’s necessary for faith to function, right?

The commandments are given to us to show us how to live out our faith, how faith happens in real life, not just in theory. And what are the most important commandments, and actually the summary of the commandments? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” We know why we do that. We love because God first loved us. But how do we do that? What does this mean? “Whenever you do this for the least of My brothers, you did it for Me.” Loving God is expressed by loving our neighbors. As Luther said, “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” Of course, that’s why “The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Because that’s how we love God, but that’s also how we experience God’s love first hand. Jesus was alone (forsaken by God and abandoned by His disciples) for us on the cross so we’d never have to be alone, so why would we choose that from which He set us free?!

What about private worship?

But don’t we live out our faith through worship? Gathered (AKA “Corporate” from “corpus” = “body”) worship expresses love for God, but it loves God by the act of gathering together in His forgiveness and love. The love happens when others are strengthened by our presence, and we are strengthened by theirs. The Word and Sacraments provide the context, the love that God gives to us that we gather around and in. Private worship is primarily self-benefiting unless we’re praying for others, but that’s an inherent connection with others. That’s not to say private worship (singing, praying, devotional reading, etc.) aren’t good—they’re just for our benefit until the benefits we receive are used to bless others (like offering an insight gained to someone else or being strong for others because your faith has already been strengthened).

The Christian faith is centered in love. Faith, hope, and love are 3 sides of the same coin (sic). And the greatest of these is love, because faith and hope are centered in love, God’s love for us, but are expressed in our acts of love for God through our acts of love for our neighbor.

If I’m alone, does that mean I’m not a Christian?

Does this mean that a sole Christian cannot have faith in the absence of other Christians? Of course not! That faith is practiced by acts of love for others, Christian or not. That faith originates from God’s love for us, so never confuse source and practice. Even a Christian alone on a deserted island is in community by praying for others even in a hopeless situation. By faith, we’re able to look outside of our circumstances, no matter how dire, trusting God for both our needs and the needs of others. Even the Christian alone on her deathbed inherently expresses her faith to those around her by her peace and longing for God’s presence, whereas the Christian alone on his deathbed with nobody around can still have faith, but can’t practice it besides what evidence of that faith will be left for others to find afterward.

The implications of this go beyond a simple blog post, but they flow into every aspect of life. Worship in all its forms is beneficial alone but finds its fulfillment in gathering. Interactions with others are acts of worship as we show love to them. It’s not good to be alone (even us introverts), so seek connections as you live out your callings, thus strengthening each other. Love God with all you are—visibly and sacrificially—because that’s how He loved and loves you.

Zack of All Trades: A PSA on Vocation

In 1984, when we still had Saturday morning cartoons and couldn’t sleep in and just record the shows we wanted to see, while sitting in my jammies and munching on cold cereal, I sat through public service announcements that could only be entertaining to a child still groggy from a sleepover, anxious for the Smurfs to get out of the bind they were in before the show went to commercial.

Among those educational ads came the voice of Luther Vandross as “Zack of All Trades,” a career counselor with a boombox who tells us that our talents and hobbies can give us a hint as to what job we might have someday.

But while the church is not called to do career counseling, the Bible tells us that we all have unique gifts (Ephesians 4:11,12) to use to help each other. God calls us to use those gifts for His service. We can use many of those gifts directly in service to the church, but we also use those gifts in our workplaces, homes, and communities.

Through these vocations (“callings”), God works through us to serve our neighbor. In our workplace, we provide goods or services to our community, making their lives better. When we fail to live up to our calling, the company’s customers suffer, the company suffers, and all of our coworkers suffer. In our homes, God calls us to serve our families, whether as parents or children, and when we fail to act in love toward our families to the best of our ability, they suffer. People in our community depend on us to help them through volunteer activities. In doing so, we show people the love God has shown to us through Jesus Christ.

When we fail, though, while those around us suffer, and we may suffer the consequences of such actions, Just like Peter after denying Jesus (John 21:15-17), God assures us that Jesus has already paid the eternal consequences for our failure, so He forgives us, continues to love us, and calls us again to our vocations with a fresh start, forgiven and called again to the honor of serving the King of the universe.

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The Bible: It isn’t just for Sunday mornings anymore!

Originally written for Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church, apply these ideas to your local context.

Last month, I challenged all of you to intentionally seek out those in your life who are not connected with a church. I’ve seen some of that happen already, which I find encouraging, and I look forward to meeting more of your friends and neighbors.

But a life of discipleship goes beyond Sunday morning (or Wednesday evening). Remembering the Sabbath means remembering Christ, our Sabbath rest, Who brings our worries and cares to an end and gives comfort and peace every day.

What does that look like? In many ways, it’s a matter of living out your vocations: doing your job to the best of your ability with the knowledge that you do that job to glorify God, loving your spouse with the same love Christ and His church share, loving and teaching your children (no matter how old) about our loving Savior by telling them about and showing forgiveness to them.

It also means being in the Word and prayer every day. Set aside time each day for prayer. For different people, that can mean different things. Maybe for you, the best time is right before bedtime or when you get up in the morning. Maybe it would work best for you to pray before supper, but instead of “Come, Lord Jesus,” take a couple minutes to give each person in the family to pray together about whatever is on the mind and end with a prayer thanking God for providing food. (Parents, this will also help you know what’s on your kids’ minds.)

I’d also like to see everyone involved in at least one group Bible study each week. If none of the studies we offer on Sunday morning or evening work for you, talk to some friends, whether from Shepherd of the Ridge or other Christians, and find a time you can get together with them each week for a round table-style Bible study, where each person reads a verse or paragraph and offers a thought about how that passage applies to your life. Another impromptu method of study is to work through a book of the Bible, asking how each passage relates to God’s plan of salvation. Think of it as a group getting together each week to solve a mystery, and work together to unlock that from the passage.

If you’ve gotten this far and said, “None of that will work for me,” then this is your chance to get creative. Don’t give up! Maybe you have coworkers who’d like to share a devotion during your lunch break. Maybe you have Facebook friends who’d like to discuss a passage on your “wall” each day. If you have friends or relatives you call regularly on the phone, suggest doing a phone study with them!

What other suggestions do you have? Leave a comment below!