THE LONELY WALK
Don Hawley
This item is principally for Seventh-day Adventists, but could have an application for others as well.
Jesus had a lonely walk while here on earth. Much of the time he was surrounded by large crowds of people, but I've learned that this can serve to make matters even more difficult. While a teenager living alone in the heart of New York City during holiday season, I found that the most profound loneliness of all is being in the midst of a mass of humanity with no intimacy. Laughing and atwitter with anticipation, the sidewalk crowds were on their way to a warm hearth and a table heavily laden with gastronomical goodies. I, on the other hand, would stop briefly at a "greasy spoon" diner, and then on to my little basement flat in Greenwich Village. No, one doesn't have to be alone to be lonely.
In the midst of the crowd Jesus often was lonely. Most were there only for the loaves and fishes or for healing. They wanted to use him rather than worship him. Even his disciples didn't comprehend the Master's mission, and at the crisis hour "they all forsook him and fled."
Shortly before his agony on Calvary, Christ gave up on the religious system he had tried so hard to revitalize. They wouldn't have him as their King. Now he would return to heaven, and the Comforter would come to establish and empower the new Christian church. The new wine would be placed in new wineskins.
OUR OWN WALK
Following in the footsteps of Jesus, we shouldn't be surprised if our own spiritual walk is a lonely one. A lifelong Seventh-day Adventist, I was set up for such an experience. As I moved from one Adventist center to another, it was like living in a religious ghetto. My physician, dentist, and baker were SDA's, and if I had patronized a candlestick maker he would have been of the same persuasion as well. Nearly all my relatives were Adventists, as were virtually all my friends. I'd been warned to keep separate from the world (non-SDA;s); the only exceptions were occasional forays to "evangelize."
When the day came that I heard the Lord calling me to leave the Seventh-day Adventist organization, the lonely walk began. I had no ties outside Adventist ranks, and before long most of my Adventist friends and relatives began to distance themselves from me. A few displayed a degree of anger, but most simply felt uncomfortable or fearful in my presence. In trying to analyze this reaction, I decided it was brought about by two main factors.
1. Whether they realize it or not, most Adventists believe in salvation by denomination. When someone deliberately leaves the organization, he is in essence saying, "This institution is so far from what God intends it should be that I must drop out." Such an action is perceived as a challenge to the very institution they are counting on to take them to heaven. No wonder they feel uncomfortable or frightened!
2. The average Adventist knows very little about the person or ministry of the Holy Spirit, and almost nothing about his power. A consideration of the gifts of the Spirit takes him out of his comfort zone, and any actual manifestation of the Spirit generates fear. In fact, a move of the Spirit is often seen as demonic. Again, no wonder members are apt to draw away from one who is seeking an intimate relationship with the Comforter.
A NEW FAMILY
We must follow the Lord's leading no matter what the cost, be it loneliness or something worse. However, it helps to realize there are also spiritual brothers and sisters outside the ghetto. The Body of Christ is a large and wonderful family, and we need to reach out in fellowship. Especially gratifying is association with others who sense that the Holy Spirit renewal now sweeping the world is the most important thing God is doing today. No matter where I travel, I instantly feel at home in a renewal service. In the final crisis ahead there may be more periods of loneliness, but right now I'm enjoying the fellowship of the Body.