Solo

I want to talk for a second about "a personal relationship with Christ" if I may. Too often people think that being a Christian has nothing to do with anyone else and is solely based upon the individual's own journey of faith. It focuses on what eternity has in store for me with little to no consideration of others because really, "that is a personal decision that they will have to make because I certainly can't make it for them."

Now I don't disagree that each individual needs to make a personal decision whether or not to follow Jesus but to turn Christianity into a religion that focuses and is based on the individual is, in my opinion, going against the very foundation of what Christianity is all about. In order to truly be a disciple of Jesus, you and I need community. We need people! How can you be a Christian solo? Jesus doesn't tell us to love ourselves as our self...NO, He tells us to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lk 10:27) because He assumes that we already have a sense of love for ourselves. Who are you to be the salt and light to if your relationship with Christ only matters to you? Paul says that we are part of a body and that we need each other, we can't do it alone.

The whole point of Jesus' ministry (and ours with Him) is to bring the Good News of His love, forgiveness and grace to the world. One's relationship with Christ starts inwardly but is made evident outwardly; it may begin individually but has to become communal or it is not the Christianity of Jesus. I think it is exciting to see how the individual and the community go hand-in-hand. The growth of the one can't happen without the growth of the other. The moment we privatize Christianity is the moment it ceases to be Christianity at all.