Loneliness

Loneliness
If you build walls, you don’t get hurt. If you never love, then you’ll never cry. This reminds me of an old song by Simon and Garfunkle, “I Am A Rock; I Am An Island” The song ends with these two lines, “And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.”

This is a very hopeless description of life. Many people do experience this. We live in a very lonely society. Many people build these walls around themselves to protect themselves from pain, grief and abuse. To open yourself up to others makes you vulnerable to more pain. It’s risky. So the songwriter writes, “I’ve built walls, a fortress, steep and mighty, that none may penetrate.”

Though we can all relate, we don’t have to come to the same conclusion. We can all relate because there is a “wall.” That wall already starts between us and God. That wall is because of our sin, our disobedience to God. It results from a broken relationship with Him.

This broken relationship with God brings pain, grief, separation and sadness in our relationships with others. It hurts and it sometimes hurts very badly. We want to protect ourselves. As the song says, “I have my books, and my poetry to protect me. I am shielded in my armor, hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me.”

But there is a way out. There is hope. The wall between God and us is broken through Christ’s sacrifice for all who believe and trust in Him. He took upon Himself our sin and with it all our shame, our grief, our hurts, and our pain. He came to save us from it. The motive was God’s great love for us. He gave His Son Jesus for this purpose!

When our sins are forgiven and we receive His love, we can learn to love and forgive others again. We learn to trust others again. We can make true and lasting relationships and friendships. Yes, there may be hurt and tears. We don’t live in a perfect world. But in Christ there is a new community of sharing and caring. This is so important, isn’t it, in a world where there is so much loneliness!

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