Letting Love Minister to Loneliness

LONELINESS runs like this. Isolation condemns us to think we are not good enough. When we lack we become isolated. Most people suffer some sense of isolation, thinking their lack is unique. The only thing we lack on set occasions is the faith to love without fear. Otherwise we, again, fall for the obvious sin of rejecting the person God loves enough to give his only Son.

Loneliness is the natural locale of the person who is afraid to love God, for they can’t be sure such a love would be vindicated. Such a love is, of course, faith — the action of someone who trusts someone or something they cannot see.

Loneliness is isolation; a vulnerable state of mind and a ravenous, attention-seeking heart. It takes us into the land of fear without the safety of the sandals of courage. Loneliness makes joy unrealistic, peace improbable and hope irrelevant. It strips meaning from faith and it renders it an imbecility.

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To loneliness, add love…

Now loneliness has joy, peace and hope when love knocks on the door and moves on into the room. With love, loneliness is filled to the copious proportions of joy, peace and hope. Love sources all good things, even from the grips of loneliness.

As we allow love to minister to our loneliness, we tell ourselves important truths that never change: God loves us. All of us. With no exceptions. We cannot earn what was already given. We cannot improve what is already perfect. We will not need to prove ourselves worthy when God, through Christ, has already done that.

The ministry of love is a ministry so sorely needed when loneliness wreaks havoc.

To entreat such love is to live boldly in the wings of compassion, warmth and empathy.

Love attends to the strains of loneliness because love is unafraid, whereas loneliness made us turn away from our own interest in ourselves.

Loneliness is the reason we hunger after love like we do. We all need love. We cannot survive without it.

Love will transform our loneliness in the realms of reaching out to love when we would rather settle for someone loving us.

Loneliness is a thread too late when a seam is split. But love covers over any such lack. Love is a patch that could easily be the parent material.

Loneliness has joy, peace and hope when love knocks on the door and moves on into the room.

© 2015 Steve Wickham.