Alone

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But Christ stood with me and strengthened me." 2 Timothy 4:16 I recently watched a 40 plus years old interview of Billy Graham. He was asked what the greatest problem facing people might be? His answer surprised the one doing the interview, and likely most who watched it, both then and now. He said he believed it to be loneliness. I agree with him, and if it was so then, how much more is it now with technology and social media isolating us from one another to a degree that brother Billy could not have envisioned? Loneliness has invaded every corner of our culture. Husbands, wives, children, friends. All of us know it. We are seeing a frightening number of suicides by all age groups, but especially among teens. Most, in the notes they leave behind, speak of feeling utterly alone, uncared for. It is so in the world, and it is so in the church. How many of those that we "welcome" each week, leave our gatherings feeling the deep pain of loneliness? How many enter through our doors each week yearning to be noticed, accepted, loved, and then left unfulfilled? I realize that this is not completely on the church, but how hard do we really try to bring people into our life communities? There is a wide difference between being a welcoming church on the surface and one that really seeks to bring people into an authentic Christian community. At a church I once attended in Richmond, Virginia, there was a greeter everyone called "Pop." He was a large, gregarious man. He was not well educated, or distinguished looking, but every week, as people came in, those who were in his vicinity were swept into his embrace, as he said, in words you knew were true, "Welcome! God loves you, I love you." The pastor of that church said he asked a man who was attending for the second time why he had returned. His reply was that he wanted to be embraced by Pop once more. He wanted to be told that he was loved. How many like him are we not seeing? Not just in our church gatherings, but in our everyday affairs, in our everyday encounters with the people who are all around us? Somewhere, if it still exists, is a photo of me at one of the endless parties I once lived for. All around me are people, yet I saw in my face what I knew then was in my spirit. I felt totally alone. Surrounded by people, but alone. I knew when I looked at it that I'd reached the end of myself. I knew I couldn't live like this anymore. All of us have felt abandoned, isolated, and betrayed. The pain is great. We know, like Paul, what it is to have no one "stand with us" in our heartache. Yet there is one thing that will be true if we will allow Him. He, the Lord Jesus, will come and stand with us, to strengthen us, lift us, comfort us, and love us. He will never fail to do so. Little more than a month after seeing the photo, He came to me, entered my heart, and nothing has been the same ever since. Since that time there have been a number of places where I felt the pain of betrayal, abandonment, of being forgotten. We will all experience the loneliness that these things bring, but we don't have to experience them alone. He will come. He will stay. He will not leave. You may feel that no one sees you or knows where you are. It's a lie. He is the One who sees you. He knows right where you are. Call to Him. He will come. His guarantee is written in His blood. Blessings, Pastor O