solitude and community

Continuing with Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we get to this on page 77 and 78:

Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. He will only do harm to himself and the community.  Alone you stood before God when he called you; alone you had to answer that call; alone you had to struggle and pray; and alone you will die and give an account to God.  You cannot escape from yourself; for God has singled you out.

……

But the reverse is also true:  Let him who is not in community beware of being alone. Into the community you were called, and the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear the cross, you struggle, you pray.  You are not alone, even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one member of the great congregation of Jesus Christ.  If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Christ and thus your solitude can only be hurtful to you.

We recognize, then, that only as we are within the fellowship can we be alone, and only he that is alone can live in the fellowship…..

…….

Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.  Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.

In thinking about this, compare Romans 14:12

“So then each of us will give an account of himself to God”

with

Hebrews 3:13

“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by(B) the deceitfulness of sin”

and Hebrews 10:24-25

“24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

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