Every true seeker knows, intuitively, that spiritual fellowship represents a great blessing, and can provide great spiritual advantage for spiritual progress. Of course, members of religious groups can be disappointed, emotionally and spiritually, by the quality of their fellowship.

It is not surprising when repetitive disappointment breeds skepticism. It is natural to quit trying to solve a problem when attempted solutions fail. Even so:

The most conclusive failure of all is the decision that no solution exists.

When we are disappointed, we sometimes assume that by lowering our expectations for spiritual fellowship, we can make an essentially flat and spiritually uninspired existence bearable. That is not true. Let us be very clear about this: The blueprint of the Life Divine has been installed in every child of God — by no less an authority than God Himself! From that blueprint, our highest hopes and dreams irrepressibly arise. Those dreams always include fellowship.

Let us not forget our own spirit values. Let us not sell ourselves short by abandoning our hopes for fellowship. There is an extended family to which we all belong. If we seek sincerely and persistently enough, we will find our spiritual kin. And if we accept them when we find them, then we will have them.