Loneliness is no respecter of persons.
Loneliness plagues us in many ways. There is the loneliness of failure. No one jumps onto a sinking ship to keep the captain company as he goes down. There can even be a loneliness of success. Having accomplished something noteworthy, you are reluctant to talk about it because people will think you are bragging.
There is the loneliness of standing up for what you believe is right and finding that you are only a majority of one. There is the extreme loneliness of not feeling loved. Everyone seems to have friends but you, and you would guess that even your death would not cause anyone to break stride.
Today we are all feeling a deep loneliness as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing, self-isolating and quarantine are words we hear and we speak over and over. Individuals sit or lie alone in a nursing home room, a hospital room or at home because family members cannot come to visit. Babies are born and no one but the parents can hold the child or come near the new-born. Countless individuals sit alone at home, staring out the window or at a screen – large or small.
Confronting these feelings of loneliness is the shrill cry of the New-born Christ at Bethlehem. As we listen to the adult Jesus, we discover that he is the Father’s cure for our loneliness. Christ is the answer to our loneliness. A simple answer to a complex problem? Yes, but no less the answer.
Christ is the answer to our every baffling perplexity. In him is found a balm for bereavement, a healing for hurts, a sufficiency for our insufficiency, and the answer for loneliness.
Now there will always be times in our lives when we will be alone, but we need not be lonely. There is a difference. Christ can be the difference when we welcome him not only as our Savior, but also as our companion and our friend. Alone but not lonely is the Christian’s assurance. Jesus is God’s gift to us. He is not just a rhyme at Christmastime: “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”
Talk with Jesus throughout your day, for he is with you wherever you are, whatever you are doing and he knows how you are feeling. Share how you are feeling with Jesus. He understands.
Thanks to John H. Krahn
Strength doesn’t come from what you can do…..
Strength comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t do.
