Isolated Lights

A disclaimer before the plea

I almost never begin my posts with disclaimers, or warnings, by which, in this case, I intend to soften the blow to come. I usually just let fly and deal with the feedback and criticism as it comes. In this case, however, I am not only sensitive to some of the dynamics related to what I am going to address, I also have very dear friends whom I believe either have been or are guilty of what I want to discuss.

I can assure anyone who reads what I have written, if you are one of those people, and I’m pretty sure you’ll know it, my intention is not only to lovingly encourage you to consider the folly in your thinking, but also to use you as an example to caution others not to follow your example, tempting as it may be for various reasons. Anyone who knows me at all knows this: I am deeply committed to the glory of God, to the building up of believers in their faith, and I have made many personal sacrifices in order to be faithful to these two things.

The solo migration

The COVID madness of the last several years has had numerous effects on Christians in Canada as well as around the world. It opened many parents’ eyes and prompted them to pull their children out of State-funded propaganda schools, and I am deeply grateful for that. It also revealed that many people are financially vulnerable, considering where they are employed and given their spending habits. These revelations have also led to what I have called, “The Great Canadian Migration” (you can read about that here).

Many Christians decided to leave churches and cities, and for good reasons, in order to plant themselves in solid local churches that were faithful to Christ during COVID. They saw the need to join with other like-minded believers in strengthening their churches and building things such as schools and businesses; they have created what many of us view as “beachheads.” My family is one of those families (I write about that here).

Other Christians left for what I am compelled to call unwise and unbiblical reasons. These reasons would be okay if they were lower on the list of reasons for relocating, but when they are at the top of the list, they are, sorry to say, foolish and short-sighted. They include, but are not limited to: buying large amounts of land without a mortgage in order to homestead and farm; escaping from cities or larger urban areas; moving close to the border of another country; or isolating oneself from the dangers of our tyrannical State. This is the “Great Canadian Solo Migration,” and I want to address it head-on.

Bold as a lion

I understand how dire things were in 2021. When jab mandates came down, our family felt the full weight of that. Would we become prisoners in our own country and have our children taken away from us because we hadn’t given them an experimental gene therapy injection? My wife and I had these discussions. As it turns out, things did not get THAT bad. I know, for a fact, that many people, most commonly wives and mothers, were panicking with great fear at what would happen next, and as a result, they put tremendous weight upon their husbands to get the heck outta’ dodge.

But here’s the thing about fear, which we don’t like to talk about – fear has become what Jerry Bridges would call a “respectable sin.” It’s not nearly as bad as other sins, and we can kind of ease into tolerance for it. But make no mistake, fear is a sin. At its core, fear is not about being afraid or being overwhelmed by an impending or immediate threat. No, fear says that God is neither good enough nor powerful enough to take care of us. Fear is belittling God and His sovereign purposes. You just have to look at the strong rebukes of Christ against those who sin be being afraid (Matthew 6:30; Mark 4:40; 6:50).

I know this is going to sting, but many people fled their churches and their communities because they were driven by a faithless and cowardly fear. And that makes it a deeply sinful fear. Proverbs 28:1 says that, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Many engaged in their solo migration because rather than stand as bold as a lion, they ran when, it appears, no one was actually chasing them.

Better off alone

Full disclosure – I know that most people are not like me (which depending on what you think about me, may be wonderfully pleasant or deeply disappointing). I love people. I love being around people. I love being with people. If I could (to my wife’s perpetual head-shaking), I would have our family spend every night with other families and people from church. I just can’t get enough of the people I care about. Quiet time to myself? That’s what bathroom breaks and sleep are for. Did I say that most people aren’t like me?

Some people need extended periods of being alone, or just with their immediate family. My wife is such a person. Nevertheless, even she delights in less frequent get-togethers. Some people, however, utterly disappear for long stretches of time, retreating into hermit-like status. They are okay with isolating themselves from others. But it’s not okay. Isolation is not an acceptable practice based on one’s personality. No, this is a sinful attitude that works itself out in an unbiblical lifestyle.

A plain reading of the New Testament reveals a simple truth - we need one another. Be it mutual discipleship and mentorship, using spiritual gifts to bless and build up, sanctification and calling out blind-spots, growing in our understanding of the Scriptures, and on and on and on, Christians need to be regularly and intentionally involved in each other’s lives. It’s about more than Sunday worship, small groups, and potlucks – what the Lord expects from us are authentic and meaningful relationships. This comes easier to some than it does to others, such as me and my wife. For some, and by some I mean some of those who engaged in their solo migration, the vulnerability and intensity of Christian relationships coupled with their isolationist tendencies led them to get away from it all.

I cannot stress how monumentally unwise this was and still is. Ecclesiastes represents the sum of the wisdom gained by King Solomon after years of doing many things poorly. He writes this:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

This passage is not just about why getting married is amazing. No, this about godly community and the necessity of being with people who will support, strengthen, and sustain us. The worst place for a person or family to be when a State becomes tyrannical is to be alone and isolated. That makes you easy-pickings. I mean, even those under Bolshevik rule in Russia knew they HAD to meet together, even if it meant underground and in secret. Isolation also leaves you susceptible to greater sins, veering from truth, and stifling your sanctification. How will you know if you are being a good husband or father? How will you know your interpretation of various passages isn’t kooky?

You might say, “as long as I have my Bible and the Holy Spirit, I’ll be fine.” Well, with respect, if you read that Bible and listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, you’d realize that’s a bunch of Gnostic and unbiblical garbage. Jesus chose a group of men. These men remained connected to churches. They planted churches and established communities. They commanded all of the “one anothers” of the New Testament. We are to meet regularly and stir one another up to faith and good works (Hebrews 10:24). The Word of God could not be any clearer on this.

This little light of mine

I want you to imagine you are in a massive stadium, and it is pitch black – I mean complete darkness. Then, all of a sudden, one tiny little candle is lit. Depending on where you are seated, you may not be able to see it at all. It will do nothing to light up the stadium, and it will provide almost no light even for the person holding it. Now imagine another candle is lit, then another, then another, until one quarter of the people have lights. Now, not only can we see the whole stadium, though still dimly, but we can all see one another. Imagine that number increases to half, then three-quarters, and so on. You can picture the effect in your mind, can’t you? If all of the people with lit candles in the world find themselves alone in massive stadiums, there is still total darkness. But what happens when these people come together in a large number? Then they can begin to light up these large areas together.

This, friends, is the Christian life. We were not created to be isolated lights in dark places, but strings of lights in dark places, shining in the darkness and making it clear for people to see. How can we be a city lit up on a hill if it’s just one candle? How can we expose darkness, call people into actual light, and shine the Gospel if it’s one candle in the middle of nowhere? You, dear Christian, ARE the light of the world, and you have to decide whether you will shine alone in a field with no one around you or with other lights so that the unlit candles can be lit up and born again in Christ.

I want to leave you with an exhortation and warning from the Apostle Paul. You see, everyone is building up the Church. The question is, are we building it up in a meaningful way that strengthens the body of Christ, or are we only building up ourselves. I pray God would help us to, as living stones, build a glorious temple for our King.

“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11-15