Dear SCC & Friends,
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ~Romans 12:15
Update #80
“If we perfect ourselves in isolation, we will be in isolation when perfected.” He who separates (isolates) himself seeks his own desire and quarrels against all sound wisdom.~Pr. 18:1 We need each other and will not come into spiritual maturity on our own. “There is a difference between solitude and isolation. One is connected and one isn’t. Solitude replenishes, isolation diminishes.” ~Henry Cloud
Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. ~Pr. 27:17 Together we have the ability to sharpen, clarify and affirm. God has given us family, friends and sometimes even a nemesis to bring us to maturity. A true friend may even hurt us for our good… Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. ~Pr. 27:6 “It is far easier to be a Christian in isolation than to live out one’s faith in the context of all those imperfect people who make up the church.” ~Gordon Fee
When I was a kid, we played a lot of unsupervised baseball where it was just “us kids.” We picked sides, made our own rules and played all day – It was so much fun, but sometimes our games were cut short. One of the moms would get word out that “Jimmy” needed to come home. I am paraphrasing, but our response was something like, “C’mon Jimmy, don’t take your ball and go home.” Without Jimmy, the game was over because he took our only ball with him, and truth be told, it was not as much fun without Jimmy. It is tempting to figuratively “take our ball and go home,” but His grace is sufficient if we tap into it…. “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer Our journey will continue to have surprise detours, unexpected delays and spiritual battle. The Lord is with us and has given us all we need… put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ~Col. 3:14 We were made for these days! Keep up the good work!
Together in Christ,
Kevin