Bonhoeffer was a fabulous theologian who was ultimately martyred for his stand against Hitler. Before his death he wrote a number of books. In one of his books, entitled Life Together, he wrote a chapter on "The Day Together" followed by another called "The Day Alone." The idea was that both are absolutely essential to meaningful spirituality.
Bonhoeffer writes, "Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.... Let him who is not in community beware of being alone... Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of word and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair."
More insightful words on the tension between community and solitude may never be written. For the sake of God's kingdom coming within us and through us, we must pursue both.
