Sunday, February 2, 2014

Taking a Hike

Palmer Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado

There are those of us who hike alone and those who hike with others. There are even those of us who do both, and maybe even need to do both.

On this day that I hiked Palmer Park I was by myself, but I only remember meeting one other person who was hiking by himself.

Maybe that says something about how we ought to approach life.

"Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude." 1 Peter 3:8 New Living Translation

There are times that we need to be alone, but life isn't meant to be lived alone.

Stating the obvious, the characteristics that Peter lists can only be expressed in community, in relationship with at least one other person. Would life be easier walking alone? Maybe, or at least the illusion that life is easier, but this is not how we're wired.

Christ embodied these characteristics. He wept with the grieving. He loved the outcasts. His heart bled for the sinners. He humbled himself to death on a cross. All of this he did that he might establish a relationship with us.

It's good to be by ourselves, and, like Jesus, spend time talking with our Father, yet even for the most introverted of us, we need each other. We need to take a walk with each other.

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(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-14 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR

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