The word “loneliness” is defined by Merriam-Webster’s as one being without company, producing a feeling of bleakness and desolation. William Shakespeare is attributed to have introduced the word “lonely” to the English language in Act IV Scene 1 of his tragic play Coriolanus, that is based on the life of the Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. As recent as Nov 20th, 2009, the NY Daily News headlines read “South Korean supermodel Daul Kim blogged about loneliness, depression before suicide” and this is not something new. The September 5th, 1977 issue of Time magazine reported that health studies showed a direct relationship between death from heart disease and singleness, up to five times more among widows and divorced women than those who were married. Author of The Broken Heart: The Medical Consequences of Loneliness, James J. Lynch asserts that physical ailments (cancer, tuberculosis, heart diseases), mental disorders and suicide are all significantly influenced by human companionship (or its lack thereof).

Loneliness can be deemed a plague in today’s society and in its most chronic form is a killer. Loneliness robs the life of those who don’t know THE ONE who personifies LIFE itself. Jesus claimed, I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. (John 11:25) God gave his Only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that all who believe in Him shall have ETERNAL LIFE (John 3:16). In Loneliness is death, In Jesus Christ is Life and the greatest loneliness is in those who don’t know Jesus Christ as their companion. What is more is that for those who believe in Jesus, they can never be lonely. Loneliness is an impossibility for those in Christ Jesus, because He promised to never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5).You can be guaranteed to hear him saying “bekol iom“, which is Hebrew for “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), which literally means “every day the whole day”. Think about it, every day the whole day, Jesus will be with you, meaning loneliness has no place anymore.

Point(s) to ponder:

  1. Do you feel lonely? If you do, you can trust in the promise of Jesus Christ, who says I AM with you, bekol iom.
  2. Do you know someone who is lonely? If so, extend to them the truth that in Jesus Christ, they can find a companion, they can find life itself and loneliness is an impossibility in Jesus Christ.
  3. Think about someone you know whom you know/feel is lonely and pray for that person now, call them, and share with them your companionship, modeling your life after Christ.