There is a hymn in our song book entitled, Where No One Stands Alone. It is a plea to God to be continually with us amid a lonely world. It has been told that Elvis Presley sang this hymn with some friends in his home one night. Whey they got to the part that says, "Like a king I may live in a palace so tall, with great riches to call my own; but I don't know a thing in this whole wide world that's worse than being alone," one said that Elvis turned as white as a ghost. Indeed it is not good that man should be alone.
The good news is that God is always with the faithful. When Paul's companions forsook him at his first trial before Caesar, he wrote, At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me (2 Timothy 4:16,17a). Jesus also, when foretelling what would happen in the garden of Gethsemane, said, Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me (John 16:32).
Even though our heavenly Father will never leave us nor forsake us (cf. Hebrews 13:5), we still fight the feeling of loneliness when others do. I remember the anxious feeling I had attending the services of the church before I got married to my wife. As I got out of my vehicle and started for the building, I would think, "Where am I going to sit this morning, and will it probably be on a pew alone?" Services can be difficult for those by themselves. It can seem like everyone else around you is engaged in dialogue with one another, smiling, laughing, and having a pleasant time, but no one notices you. Sadly for some, a crowded church building can seem like the loneliest place in the world.
The Bible describes the church as a family (Ephesians 2:19). God setteth the solitary in families (Psalm 68:6a). Why? In part, so that they no longer have to be lonely. When a person decides to become a Christian, this might involve a separation from family and friends who refuse to follow the truth. The Lord gave some encouragement to such followers: And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life (Mark 10:29,30). Therefore, we in the church should be like a father, mother, brother, or sister to one another, especially to those who do not have any.
Thank you to those among us who have provided your pew to the solitary. But can the rest of us invite those who are alone to sit with us and our families during worship or Bible study? Just sitting with someone can be a big deal and help that person be in a better state of mind to worship God. After all, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24) when we assemble. Are we doing that if we do not consider those sitting alone? We know by faith that God is with us because the Bible tells us so. May we show others that we are with them by being a church where no one sits alone. Brotherly, Jamie
