loneliness

When God created Adam there comes a point in the narrative where we read that God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable/corresponding to him.” We know the end result: the creation of Eve. And while this results in nothing less than the institution of marriage, it brings out another important point about our humanity: humans are made for relationships and communion.

I am grateful to God for a loving wife with whom I have unbroken communion, of course having to fix this and that along the way, mostly due to sin or weakness on my part.  And I’m grateful to God for the good friends he has given me: at church, at work, in other ways, and even those I’ve yet to meet in person but have come to appreciate through the internet.

But in the end what Augustine wrote is true: The human heart is restless and finds no rest until it rests in God. We were made for communion with each other, but not apart from communion with God. We need that communion with God first and foremost. Then out from that we need communion with others.

What do we do with our inevitable sense of loneliness? All kinds of things which in themselves may be good, but out of place are quite destructive. When the one thing we need, and need to cultivate is communion with God. Involving a drawing near to God. A mind to listen, so that we can have a heart to listen. An openness. And with that comes an utter dependence on God and on God’s grace, an increasing sense of our great need.

And then from there, like any relationship it needs cultivation. And time. Yes, we live in God’s Presence at all times, but we need those special times of drawing near. One time when I was a young Christian, years and years ago now, I decided to have a “date with God.” I still remember that day rather vividly. God in his love met me in a powerful way out at that park as I pored over some scripture passages on grace. Life goes on, and I failed to really make that fellowship the priority in my life it is to be. Yes, Christianity and my involvement in the faith was always a part of my life. But not nearly as much in this way as God wants it to be.

Loneliness in this life at least in the sense of longing for more can’t be avoided to be sure. But are we first and foremost seeking to cultivate a communion with God which extends to each other in Jesus? And not meant to stop there, but to spur us on in God’s love to reach out to the world in word and deed in Jesus. So that others would come to know this same love with us.