Do you find that when you go home from the airport to an empty apartment day after day you find it harder not to do wrong things? There is a reason for this.
When we run from relational pain we cut ourselves off from the very answer to human evil, love. No one can love or be loved in isolation. This may appear obvious since love implies a relationship. That said, this self-evident reality still sometimes eludes us, especially when some of the love we have experienced is imperfect at best and damaging at worst.
At times we might think we’d be better off alone rather than be involved in something that feels less like love and more like abuse. Yet true love also exists. God’s love for us is perfect and primary. Real human love, when divinely rooted, is also necessary for our well-being.
Without both kinds of love, we are not motivated to resist sin and the devil (a “loner” if there ever was one) takes full advantage. Temptation is fought by the power of experiencing healthy relationships. It is amplified by isolation.
“…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.” Hebrews 10:25 NIV
This thought was written by Shea Oakley. She is Principal Contributor for FCAP Social Media and also serves on our Advisory Board.
