You Are Not Alone: Finding Communion Through Faith

In the Beginning

The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. – Genesis 2:18a

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth and all they contain. He does so by His very word, He speaks and it comes to be – “God said let there be (x) and (x) was created.” He does this over and over, from chaos (disorder) to cosmos (defined order); from simple and lifeless to complex and life-full. This complexity culminates in the creation of human beings; a fascinating combination of lifeless and life-full, simple elements combined fearfully, wonderfully, and mysteriously in the image of the Creator.

In the second creation account, we are given an abbreviated version of the events. We see Adam, newly created before God, alone but not alone. He is with God but he is one of a kind; a wildly new creature compared to the others.

We are told that God puts Adam in the garden and somehow relays instructions on how he is to live and what he can and cannot do. It’s interesting that so far in this second chapter, unlike the previous one, God has not spoken. There is no, “God said…” mentioned until verse 18. Here, the Lord speaks for the first time in the chapter and His words should give us pause;

The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. – Genesis 2:18a

Why? Why isn’t it good for the man to be alone? The simple answer is that if we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are created in the image and likeness of a communion of persons. Then God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.(Gen 1:26) We are designed in our very being to live in communion with God and with others. It is in our nature.

The Serpent Sees an Opening

In my wild imagination, I see the serpent moving through the garden. His ears, ever attentive to the word of God in order to twist and churn them, perk up at this phrase, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” From that moment on, it has been his sole purpose and motive; to separate man from God and man from man (here, please read “man” in its broad original sense, meaning all human beings or mankind).

He divided, and continues to divide, friends, couples, families, tribes, kingdoms, and nations. He is Diablo – the divider. It is not good for the man to be alone, but that is his aim. He does so in a variety of ways.

You Alone

One of his most insidious methods, one that is unfortunately today extremely effective, is convincing individuals they are alone. He whispers, perhaps not outrightly, but more often through negative self-talk;

• You are all alone, no one cares.
• No one else has ever gone through this so don’t ask for help. They can’t help you, they won’t help you.
• Don’t give your heart to anyone, they can’t be trusted. Think of all the times you were hurt! Don’t forget those, don’t forgive those.
• Keep to yourself, don’t share your struggles. Others will judge you, ridicule you, pull you down. Keep it inside.
• God doesn’t love you; if He did, would He allow this to happen to you?
• When was the last time God really answered your prayers? Never! You just had a few coincidences, that’s all.
• Things won’t get better, why try… just go it alone, alone, alone.

The Loneliness Pandemic

Today we face a pandemic of loneliness. It’s by design. It’s a construction not reality. It’s a twisting of the original goodness and beauty of God’s plan. God wants communion, the enemy wants isolation. God wants connection, the enemy wants distance. God wants us to love, the enemy wants us to ignore or even use others. God wants us to be fruitful and multiply our gifts, talents, and compassion, the enemy wants us to serve ourselves, focus only on ourselves, and ignore the other.

I’ve known this loneliness and I know it’s a lie. I’ve at times convinced myself that no one is to be trusted, that I’m all alone, and that I have to make my way through this world by myself. I’ve despaired. I’ve hid myself from God. I’ve felt anger and hatred toward others.

Most often when one speaks of Hell, they describe it as a place full of the damned, demons, sulfur, and fire. I do not. In my view, Hell is a place of absolute loneliness. Eternal darkness, silence, pain, and loneliness. Embracing and accepting the lie of loneliness here is bringing Hell to Earth.

The Truth: You’re Not Alone

You are not alone. We are on this pilgrimage together. There will be highs and lows; mountain vistas and valleys of death. There will be joy and sorrow, pain and ecstasy, hurts and healing. Yet, the journey together with you is worth it all. Do not fear. You are not alone. All that you are going through, someone has gone through. If you think that’s not true, that’s “the divider” speaking. Do not listen to him. Talk to someone else. Speak with someone who has walked the path before, journeyed through the darkness, and finally found the light on the other side. This person could be a trusted friend, a priest or spiritual advisor, a counselor, or trained professional. The key is to overcome the loneliness with connection and communion. It can undo the lies of the serpent.

Also, talk to Jesus. Pour out your heart to him. More importantly, listen to Him tell you about His experience with loneliness and how even during the darkest times He trusted the Father. The first time we read of Him being alone, the devil approached to tempt Him. Alone again in the Garden of Gethsemane, He is tempted. Alone on the Cross, again tempted. Do you see a pattern? The devil loves it when we feel alone (separated from others) and it is here that he will try to get us to despair (separated from God). It’s the same old plan from the very beginning.

An Antidote to Loneliness

As difficult as it might be to hear, the antidote to the venom of loneliness is self-gift. For many, the medicine may appear more painful than the sickness. Our inclination is to hide the bite wound when it needs exposed to the light of service. Our inclination is to close up and protect ourselves, when really we need to open ourselves up and give (love) freely. This is the lesson of the Cross; He took the sins, the venom of the ancient serpent, and exposed the wounds of our humanity, giving Himself freely upon the Cross in a total self gift. It’s not easy but it is the cure for loneliness. Talk to someone, give of yourself, make connection, embrace communion with others for It is not good for the man to be alone.