Sin separates; the church gathers together

The US Surgeon General, Vivek Murphy, has declared that loneliness is the greatest health crisis facing America today. There are a slew of new books raising the alarm about how deeply disconnected and isolated modern society is — The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, Generations by Jean Twenge, How to Know a Person by David Brooks. The CDC conducts large-scale studies of how people spend their time. Time spent with friends has plummeted in last decade, especially for young people.

The modern world is a deeply lonely place. This is the aftereffects of sin. Sin fosters conflict and separation. In CS Lewis’ haunting book, The Great Divorce, disagreements and arguments drive the inhabitants of hell further and further apart, until each person lives utterly alone, miles away from their nearest neighbor. This is the trajectory of modern culture. What then can be done?

In a world where sin separates, the church gathers together. Jesus’ final prayer in John 17 was that the church might be “one.” This is what human beings were created for — that we would no longer be many, but one. The only other place in the Bible where human beings are described as “becoming one” is Genesis 2:24, the seminal verse on marriage.

Just as husband and wife are to be “one flesh,” so also the church is to embody such love and depth of friendship that the members are one. And when the church holds together and avoids the ever-present temptation of conflict and break-up, we become a beautiful witness to the world. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). This is the great mission of our lives — to keep the unity of the church. May God fill us with his Spirit and help us.