ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 6, 2022
The Russian novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, wrote: “Solitude is the playfield of Satan.” This statement might appear a bit strange after yesterday’s Etching where I referenced the importance of finding time to pause and get away with God. Is solitude a good thing or not? Should we try to find a little prayer time in some quiet and deserted place? I think the answer is still “Yes!” With that said, what we come to experience, feel and even hear in that time should always be in conversation with the larger faith community. Let’s be very clear — my imagination can go in some pretty strange directions when it is just me, and what I think I’m hearing from God and what I am hearing from my own self-serving ego might get mixed up, even confusing one for the other. Fear can have us make an idol that seeks to serve our insecurities, yet we convince ourselves it is God. This is why I often tell people to listen to God with a multitude of ears. Invite others, beyond your immediate circle, to listen for the voice of the Spirit, and hopefully those trusted friends will be willing to say, “I love you, friend, but the Spirit is suggesting your idea is not of God.”
God, help me to know you, to know myself and to know when I make a god based on my own self-interest. Amen.
