People are messy, including you and I. Relationships with one another can cause us to mature in Christ as we choose to make peace, forgive, give grace, intentionally connect, and heal or we can become bitter, judgemental, isolated, and ultimately alone. We get to choose how we steward our heart and how we engage with others.
Proverbs 18:1-2
Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
When we’re alone with ourselves, we’re always right. Am I right? Or are you? Christ centered community is humbling to be a part of.
Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together,as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The place where we encourage one another, and spur one another on toward love and good deeds, is in our gathering, not in isolation. When we forsake the gathering together, we get weird (and are always right) on our own.
The ability for us to choose to keep loving others, no matter the relational pain we’ve been through, pushes us out of a victim mindset, reminding us of the authority we have to change, move forward, heal, and push through. Will we get hurt again? Absolutely. Is the pain worth it? Absolutely. I would take the pain of connection with other imperfect humans any day over the pain of isolation. In the words of Michael Scott on The Office, “No question about it, I’m ready to get hurt again.”