[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 06/Sep/2020]
Have you ever felt like an outsider? I suspect that most of us have felt this at one time and sadly one place where this is often experienced is in the church.
I remember feeling very isolated at a previous church, as the only single parent, the only adoptive parent and the only parent of children with special needs. One day I was talking with another woman who I assumed was at the centre of things, as a deacon, a long standing church member and having the ideal family with a Christian husband and a “normal” child. Yet before I mentioned my own feelings of isolation, she confided in me that she felt rejected and on the outside of the church.
Feelings of isolation can arise because we feel different from those around us, or because past experiences of rejection make us assume that others will reject us. The need to belong is fundamental and the feeling of being an outsider can be excruciatingly painful. Recently I had a dream in which I discovered that a number of things had been happening to people at church, like moving house or getting engaged, of which I had been unaware. The hurt of being excluded stayed with me even after waking up, but then I felt God was saying to me: “You need never be excluded from my church. If you listen to me, I will gladly tell you the things that I am doing in the church. These things are far more important than who has moved house, got engaged or who is having a baby.”
Many of us have felt isolated over the past few months. It must be particularly hard for those who do not have internet access, or who are unable to leave their homes. Yet we can draw comfort from the story in Numbers 11, in which Moses gathered 70 of the elders together and God poured his Spirit on them. For some reason 2 of the elders had not gone with the others, but God still poured out his Spirit on them where they were. Even if we are unable to meet together, God can still pour out his blessing on us wherever we are.
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Contributed by Helen Ruffhead; © the Author
