fellowship

english bible study with japanese; time out with other christians

no man is an island, so i was told. only islands are created to be, so aptly called, islands. the transitive verb form of it is defined by the dictionary as to isolate, to set apart.

in my entire life, i have only imagined myself to be in an island. but to be an island? never! and i say it with exclamation point. however, situations may come that may require me to be so - to be an island. one of which is my coming to japan. for a while, this was difficult. i felt like gnashing and gnawing my teeth for the rest of those nights when reality bites - that i am now alone like an island surrounded by water, only that i am surrounded by mountains.

the human Creator, the greatest Designer of the universe, commenting His creation masterpiece after each day of His 6-day work, that it was good or very good until after the last day of His creation when He said that it is not good for a man to be alone. so became the reason He put the first man to sleep and brought the first woman to the first man. when the man was awaken, lo and behold, there was a woman beside him, beautiful as i imagined her to be, with pearly white teeth, smiling, and perhaps saying, hello first man.

so i too sleep. i too wake up. unlike the first man, i have only mountains around me. (maybe she is sleeping too?)

for the time being, i have learned to accustom myself to the pang of isolation. it serves its purpose too. it gives me more time to identify my priorities, reorient them actually, and be passionate about the call to fellowship, of comradeship. learning to value the importance of a close association with other individuals having common interests and beliefs is the greatest lesson of all i learned while i contented myself with an early morning greeting by the mountain every time i wake up: hello island.

to be an island is to be set apart. but set apart for what? as einstein puts it: do not be a man [or island] of success but be a man [or island] of value. live for others, die for others. "for none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone." (romans 14:7) tough call it is but fellowship this is. the irony of it is i be an island first to learn to fellowship. maybe this is the essence of fellowship, the very purpose why for the meantime i be an island, i am being set apart.

(now i am happily involved in an english bible study with japanese and with international students. i ceased now to be an island. i belong. i fellowship. but still wanting to sleep...)