If we are honest, many of us have to admit we strive to live Lone Ranger lives though God created us to be in relationship with others. While families and communities collapse around us, and while neighbors, friends, and relatives struggle with loneliness, we are not exactly seeking to do anything about it.

Perhaps these are excuses you have used: People have hurt me. The church has hurt me. I can’t trust anyone. At the heart of it all, we long for relationships that will not fail. When we withdraw from the community, we think we are protecting ourselves from new abuses and betrayal. But our human relationships will always fall short in some way. We need to put our hope and trust where it will never fail: in our relationship with Jesus.

Walling ourselves off from the brokenness in this world will only block us from its beauty as well. Is this how you want to live? Christ died not only for you but for a spiritual family, of which you are apart. The church may be an ugly bride, but she is Christ’s bride, nonetheless.