-Mother Teresa
Words of wisdom and challenge from a woman who lived and ministered in the midst of some of the greatest material poverty on this planet.
As I've wrestled with and continued to read and study about singles in the church, there is one topic that continually rises to the surface.
More than anything about sex and purity.
More than anything about often being stuck with young adult or college-age groups, long past that age, because some churches don't know what to do with us.
More than anything about the marriage and family emphasis, and in some case dare I say over-emphasis, in churches.
More than anything about the struggles of balancing work, home, extended family, and friends all on your own.
What is that topic?
Loneliness.
And it shouldn't surprise us. The Western World is caught up in the throes of a loneliness epidemic. In our hyper-connected, always-on world, we lonely like we've never been before.
We live in a world where we have hundreds of "friends" or followers, but few, if any, real connections. Many of those friends or followers are only surface relationships at best. We've bought the lie we've been told that we don't need anyone and we're paying a high price now.
It's easy to read what I've written, see it in the world out there, and think we're safe from it in the church. But, the reality is, the church has exactly the same problem.
Our churches are filled with lonely people. And, those of you reading this are likely among that group - at least sometimes.
We don't have to read Scripture for long to see that we need each other. Almost anywhere you turn, you read about our need for relationship and community with others. God didn't intend for us to do it alone.
A quick online search on loneliness brings up countless articles on the health effects of loneliness and the harm it does to us. Our society is waking up to the problem of loneliness. But, in all the reading I've done of these articles, there have been no solutions offered. The problem is clear, but the solutions aren't.
In every book and article I've read on singleness and the church in the last six months, loneliness is the topic that keeps coming up. It's obvious that loneliness is a problem in the West in general. but, I think it's even more of a problem for Christian singles in the West. In saying that, I'm not discounting the loneliness any one of us feels, at least some times. But, as I've read, reflected on my own experiences, and talked to other singles about this, I've started to see a few things that are important.
Much of what I say will apply to all, regardless of whether we're single or married. But, some of it comes specifically from the perspective of a single person.
I don't yet know how many posts will come on this topic. As I get deeper into it, ti's becoming bigger and more intriguing that I imagined. But, there will be at least a few posts to come.
As I finish this for today, I want to leave you with a thought from Sam Allberry from his book 7 Myths About Singleness:
"Our deepest aches and yearnings for intimacy will only ultimately be met in Christ. That's not to minimize the importance and goodness of friendships in this world, whether in marriage or outside of it. Such human intimacy is a wonderful gift from God and something each of us needs. But, while we don't want to minimize this, we do need to revitalize it. It will never be ultimate. We will always need something that is whole levels of magnitude more."Allberry isn't saying we just need Jesus. The "just me and Jesus" thought only goes so far. We need other people to walk alongside.
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