{"id":1316,"date":"2016-05-18T17:44:56","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T21:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=1316"},"modified":"2016-05-18T17:46:44","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T21:46:44","slug":"isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"‘ISOLATION’…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>n his article in\u00a0<\/a>The New York Times\u00a0<\/i>yesterday (May 17, 2016), David Brooks asked the question,\u00a0\u2018What is the central challenge facing our era? My answer would be: social isolation\u2019,\u00a0<\/b>he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

My answer would be: \u2018Isolation from God\u2019.\u00a0<\/b>TS Eliot once wrote,\u00a0Hell is oneself,\u00a0hell is alone, the other figures in it merely projections.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In John 16:5-6 we read Jesus\u2019 words to his disciples as he walked with them one more time before his arrest and crucifixion:\u00a0\u201cBut now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019\u00a0<\/i>But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The more he spoke of his \u2018going away\u2019, the more depressed his disciples became.<\/b>\u00a0Aware of this he used these last hours to assure them that his going would not be the disaster they anticipated.\u00a0But, as so often happens, self-pity blinded them to the deeper, hidden purposes of God.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In John 16:7 we read:\u00a0\u201cNevertheless I tell you the truth:\u00a0<\/i>it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate (Helper) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes we can feel isolated from God\u2014 sometimes by feelings of failure, of unworthiness, sickness or grief.<\/b>\u00a0What Jesus was saying to his first followers, he also says to us today,\u00a0\u2018Don\u2019t despair. I am making a promise that makes it possible for you to experience me in your life.<\/b>\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the Spirit opens our eyes to our need:\u00a0<\/b>\u201cAnd when he comes, he will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned\u201d\u00a0<\/i>(John 16:8-11).<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 words seem cryptic, but when we consider them their meaning is clear.\u00a0The Holy Spirit\u2019s work is to awaken us to our isolation from God.<\/b>\u00a0Why is it that someone who has lived a life of indifference or even hostility towards God can suddenly be aware of their sin and their need for personal salvation?\u00a0\u00a0CS Lewis was in his thirties when he came \u2018kicking and screaming\u2019 into God\u2019s kingdom. It is the Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The word\u00a0convict<\/i>\u00a0is a technical word in the original language, meaning\u00a0to cross-examine a hostile witness.<\/i>\u00a0Jesus was saying that the Spirit would also challenge and awaken our conscience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Was this really new? Wasn\u2019t King David convicted of his affair with Bathsheba? When we consider Jesus\u2019 words, we see there\u2019s a significant change in the way the Spirit works. There is a new definition of sin. The Spirit convicts us of sin, not simply because we break the Ten Commandments, but because we don\u2019t acknowledge Jesus as our rightful ruler. We choose to be isolated from him.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is most significant \u2013 for us personally and for our outreach. The question God will one day ask all of us is this:\u00a0\u2018What did you do with my Son?\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Some twelve months ago eleven heroin smugglers were executed in Indonesia. Two of them were Australians. One of them, Andrew Chan, had turned to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior during his long imprisonment. The Spirit of God had convicted him of his sin and accountability to God. When I read this I thought of one of the two criminals crucified with Jesus who had said to Jesus, \u2018Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.\u2019 The Spirit awakens us to our need for forgiveness from God so that we may be longer isolated from him.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Brooks\u2019 solution to the issue of isolation is to build meaningful community, \u2018One community at a time\u2019. It\u2019s a good idea \u2013 as far as it goes.\u00a0Jesus\u2019 solution goes to the heart of our real isolation, our isolation from God.\u00a0<\/b>When we turn to the Lord Jesus, he, the Lord of the universe, promises to come into our lives in the person of his Spirit.\u00a0What is more, he builds us into the new community of his people.<\/b>\u00a0But that\u2019s another theme for another day.<\/span><\/p>\n

To know Christ is never to be alone.\u00a0<\/b>As King David could say,\u00a0Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me\u2026<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>(Psalm 23:4a).<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

n his article in\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0yesterday (May 17, 2016), David Brooks asked the question,\u00a0\u2018What is the central challenge facing our era? My answer would be: social isolation\u2019,\u00a0he wrote. My answer would be: \u2018Isolation from God\u2019.\u00a0TS Eliot once wrote,\u00a0Hell is oneself,\u00a0hell is alone, the other figures in it merely projections. In John 16:5-6 we read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\n'ISOLATION'... - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jesus\u2019 solution goes to the heart of our real isolation, our isolation from God. 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