Lonely or Alone?

I can just hear the words of the king of rock and roll singing, “Are you lonesome tonight, do you miss me tonight…” The flagship song of a lonely life when two people are apart. Often that story plays out in a dependent relationship in which the words of Jerry McGuire ring forth “you complete me” indicating that with that person in your life you are somehow perfect.

So let’s do the math, take one Imperfect person and add another imperfect person and presto you get two perfect people???? Nah it just does not add up. So why do we approach our dating relationships with such a burden? Well we have forgotten that while we are all imperfect it’s not up to another person to make you better. That job is left up to God.

Rewind the tape thousands and thousands of years ago. There was a man made in the image of God and the Bible describes him like this:

“The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18)

“To be alone”, hummm that’s interesting. Up to this point Adam had no dating prospects, no bird on the wire, no bachelorettes. It was just him and he was, as the Bible says, “alone”. Now God calls that “not good” but does not say that being alone is sinful or somehow Adam was incomplete.

Pastor Paul what are you getting at? Well nowadays we confuse being “alone” with “Lonely”. Often we are alone in life (I am currently away on a trip while writing this and am alone) but we don’t have to be lonely. Adam was not lonely he was just alone.

God made Adam complete in every way just as He eventually made Eve complete in every way. Loneliness came on the scene when sin entered the world. Loneliness is an indicator that inside something is missing. We know it and often the person we are dating knows that a hole of imperfection is crying on the inside. Trying to fill that hole with another’s imperfection is a waste of time, instead seek first God and His life. As you do He will lead you to wholeness so that you're not lonely anymore just maybe alone.

Once you’re there, then God can bring the right help mate so that you won’t be alone. God handles the loneliness, other people just keep you company. What part of your life is missing or incomplete? Offer that to God today.