So many younger men don't know who the Lone Ranger is, but I think everybody gets the concept. It is a hero that can stand alone and fight off evil. But everyone who knows the show knows the reality... The Long Ranger was not alone. He had Tonto.
The Lone Ranger concept is a myth at best, but really more of a lie. God did not make us to be in isolation. He made us to live in community. God is community. He is three in one. He is One bound in love and holiness as Father, Son and Spirit.
God made us to be in community with Him. That community was also meant to expand to our human connections. God made us for Himself and called us to be His gathered people. What unites us is Him. The key is Jesus and the outcome is community.
I praise God that I have a wife that I love and can count on through thick and thin. I praise God that I have men that I can call on at any time and know that they will be there for me. I praise God that I am a part of a local church that teaches and lives out God's command to live in loving relationships with one another.
Right now there are a couple of men that are on my mind all of the time. They are dealing with serious pain. The sadness that I have in seeing them go through this pain is alleviated by the joy they receive from being with the band of brothers each of these men has around them. They are not walking through the valley of the shadow of death alone. They have Christ and Christ has given them brothers.
We all need a circle of people that we can call on and count on and that can call on and count on us. Yes, it is not always neat and pretty. Relationships are messy, but they are necessary. God in His grace has given us the tools in the Gospel to successfully navigate through the difficulties that relationships can bring so that we can experience the blessing of being in a committed Christian family.
Do you have a family of faith? Within that family of faith do you have a circle of people you are devoted to? We all need the love and support of others and others need our love and support.
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