Spiritual Hermits

By Rocky Henriques

One young man was 19-years-old when, without explanation, he disappeared into the woods in Maine. He lived alone for 27 years, living on what he could steal from camps in the area. People in the area had never seen him, and they weren't even sure he existed, that he was only a legend. They called him "The North Pond Hermit." Now they know his name is Christopher Knight, and police estimated he committed more than 1000 burglaries. When he was arrested in April of 2013 after being caught on a surveillance camera, he spoke to a police officer, the first human being he had had contact with since a brief hello to a hiker on a trail in the mid-1990's. 

It's a fascinating story, but there is a remarkable parallel between that story and the large number of people who claim allegiance or membership in some church somewhere, but who have simply disappeared, without a word. They live without fellowship with other Christians and with no spiritual support from a local body of believers. There are others who show up every once in a while, but who disappear for weeks or months at a time. 

And this is a wide-spread problem, unrelated to any particular denomination or geographical location. A woman was talking about the small attendance at her church. "It gets so bad on Sunday morning," she said, "that when the minister says, 'Dearly Beloved,' it makes me blush." Billy Graham once observed, "Jesus spoke about the ox in the ditch on the Sabbath. But if your ox gets in the ditch every Sabbath, you should either get rid of the ox or fill up the ditch." 

The Power which God worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms is a Power which makes a difference in the way we live out our faith as we do it together. And while following Christ is a personal decision and one that no one else can make for us, God never, never, never intended for Christianity to be a "just me and Jesus" way to live.