Isolation and Solitude

There is a difference between solitude and isolation. Okay, I get it. Webster’s Dictionary might not completely agree. But, I think there is a great and even necessary reason for us to make a distinction.

Isolation is what the leper in Luke 5:12-14 would have known as a result of his being unclean. The Law commanded that lepers live alone outside the camp (Leviticus 13:46).  Taken literally, as some have, this means they are cutoff from the rest of society and other lepers. This would mean their lives are lived absolutely isolated and alone. As I mentioned this last Sunday, and referenced numerous studies, this isn’t good for anyone – loneliness is deadly. When Jesus healed the leper, He didn’t just end the disease, He ended the leper’s isolation. 

But after Jesus healed the leper, the passage ends with one final ironic twist.

Luke 5:16 (ESV) But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

It’s ironic because in touching the leper in verse 13, Jesus allowed the man to experience human contact. It’s ironic because in cleansing the man’s leprosy, Jesus made it possible for him to be reconciled to family and friends. It’s ironic because by sending the leper to the priests, Jesus was reuniting him to the covenant community and corporate worship. It’s ironic because this miracle, is a parable of the power of God through the Gospel to reconcile us to Himself and one another and yet Jesus withdraws.

The truth is this isn’t just ironic. But is a profound illustration of how desperately we need healthy rhythms of both Christian community and times alone with our Father in Heaven. Both are vitally important for our Christian life.

It is here in the midst of the differences between the leper’s isolation and Jesus’ solitude that we find an important distinction that should be made. Consider the contrast…

The leper was always alone. He was cutoff not only from God’s people but also approaching God where God might be found. He wasn’t welcome in the Temple or the Synagogues of the day. He was unclean and remained unclean until he was determined to be clean by the priests. Before he could participate in Jewish holy days or corporate worship, he had to be rid of his leprosy. Until then, he truly was all by himself. The leper was isolated.

Jesus was never alone, even in solitude. Nor, was it His purpose in withdrawing to be by Himself. Jesus knew the importance of others and how we were created to “do life” together. It was Jesus that set the tone for our unified lives together. He is the one that showed us that it is within the Christian community we are able to know and be known, serve an be served and encourage and be encouraged. When Jesus withdrew, it wasn’t to be alone, it was to be alone with God.

Jesus withdrew to spend intentional and concentrated time in pray and communion with His Father in Heaven. He knew it was this time alone with God that we are made ready to be a part of His people; loving as we have been loved, serving as we have been served, forgiving as we have been forgiven. If He needed this, how much more do we?

There is a difference between solitude and isolation – one is life giving the other is no life at all.

So, leave the phones, tablets, and distractions behind. Get your Bible and maybe a journal and go be alone with your Father in Heaven, you need this, we all do.