Cloister | Wayfarer

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
John 17:15 (NIV)

When our girls were teenagers, we did an exercise as a family in which we took the Myers-Briggs personality tests and then sat down with a therapist to unpack the results. I’ll never forget the point at which we got to the introvert-extrovert conversation. The therapist asked our daughters what they thought I was and our youngest immediately said I was an introvert. This shocked me because I am a pretty gregarious person and very comfortable in crowds. Madison explained that she assumed I was an introvert because “every morning when I wake up, Dad is by himself in the quiet reading his Bible.”

She’s not wrong, but even extroverts need regular doses of quiet.

I confess that there is something about monastic life that has always appealed to me. The simple, small, and quiet life of solitude seems so nice in a world of seemingly endless noise.

As a disciple of Jesus, however, I believe that a sequestered and cloistered life hidden from the world wasn’t what Jesus asks of me. A simple life? Yes. A quiet life? Yes. A small life? Sure. But the point is to be in the world. Just as Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica: “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” The point, Paul writes, is to be where others in a complicated, noisy, crazy, and messed-up world can see the contrast. A little ray of light in a dark and chaotic world.

Today’s chapter is the final of four chapters in which John records Jesus’ final words to His disciples before he is arrested. It ends with Jesus praying. In it, Jesus not only prays for His disciples but for all who would eventually believe in Him. He then specifically prays for us to be in the world but protected from the evil one (who, for now, has dominion in the world). That’s the point. That’s the mission. I’m to provide those in my circles of influence with a contrast that they can actually see. I can’t be the light of the world if I’m hiding the light under a box. I can’t be the salt of the earth if I’m still inside the salt shaker in the cupboard. I don’t need protection from the evil one if I’m never a threat to him or his dominion.

So, in the quiet this morning I am thankful for the quiet. The discipline of taking time for quiet and meditation in the mornings helps fuel the light, adds flavor to the salt, and fills my spirit in preparation for whatever it is I might face out there today. And, believe me, I am going out there into the world. That’s where Jesus’ footsteps lead.

I’m back on Facebook for those who liked to read my chapter-a-day posts there! Facebook refuses to give me access to my old, hacked account, but I have started a new account. Please feel free to search for me on Facebook and friend me. If Facebook won’t let you friend me, please go to my Facebook profile and “Message” me on Facebook Messenger, which should then allow me to friend you. Cheers! -Tom

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. John 17:15 (NLT)

I’ve never completely understood those who choose a cloistered existence, and at times it creates conflict within me. Our culture and our resources have afforded those who follow Jesus the opportunity to hide ourselves and our families away in a box labeled “Christian.” We live in Christian community, read Christian books from Christian publishers and listen to Christian music from Christian record labels. We send our kids to Christian schools in their Christian clothing only to return home to watch Christian programming on television. We go to Christian speakers at Christian conferences and sip lattes from the Christian coffee house afterwards. Inside our box we are safe and insulated. We are comfortable and cozy.

And, I’m afraid we kid ourselves into thinking we are “preserving the faith” while we become increasingly impotent and irrelevant to a world that desperately needs a glimmer of Light.

From the time I first started reading Jesus’ words, this verse from today’s chapter has always seared itself on my heart and brain. As Jesus prays for the twelve and for all those who would follow after, He prays specifically that Father God would not cloister us in a little box. His intention was that we take Light and Life on our journey into a world fraught with dangers, toils, and snares. In the midst of a hostile environment we will need safety and protection. That was Jesus prayer.