Can you walk down the main street of your city and tell me that everyone that you see is happy?
Can you tell me that they're content?
If you can answer either question, how are you so sure?
I truly believe that everyone is lonely. In some way, shape or form.
Be that as it may, I'm still quite certain in my theory. Allow me to elaborate.
What you don't know is that they struggle with single parenthood. They live with their parents to make ends meet and be able to afford food. They struggle to juggle a baby and a job, feeling all alone in their endless nights. They're not sure how they'll ever change their circumstances and be able to provide fully for their child.
I truly believe that everyone is lonely. In some way, shape or form.
But Megan, you can't know for sure. You are not every person, are you?
Be that as it may, I'm still quite certain in my theory. Allow me to elaborate.
That successful co-worker you see everyday. They're always well dressed and holding that cup of Starbucks. They have loads of photos of their family scattered about their office space. They smile and laugh a lot, sharing travel plans and family stories. Truly, they must be the epitome of happy.
Not true.
What you don't know is that they struggle with a child with special needs. Or that they struggle with debt and money troubles. Or deal daily with emotional spousal abuse.
That's not always the case, Megan. They could really have it together. They could really just be that happy. You can't know for sure.
Very true. I can't.
What about that friend you have? The one that's shy, quiet, but always gives of their time and heart to help you out with whatever you need. They rarely talks about themselves, instead they always talks about others, or asks about you. They give and give, having so much to give it seems.
Not true.
What you don't know is that they struggle with loneliness, and emptiness. They give and give of their time and resources to validate their own existence. They live vicariously through others because they're too scared to live outside of their safe zone.
That's not always the case, Megan. They could really have it together. They could really just be that happy. You can't know for sure.
Very true. I can't.
Then there is that parent in the grocery store. Their baby sits in the car seat in the cart, sleeping quietly. Their cart is full, and they made it to the line in front of you. They wait patiently, humming as their items are scanned and totals added.
Not true.
What you don't know is that they struggle with single parenthood. They live with their parents to make ends meet and be able to afford food. They struggle to juggle a baby and a job, feeling all alone in their endless nights. They're not sure how they'll ever change their circumstances and be able to provide fully for their child.
That's not always the case, Megan. Some they could really have it together. They could really just be that happy. You can't know for sure.
Very true. I can't.
But what I do know is that at some point in our day, we feel very very alone in our struggles. Whether it's in our workday, our home life, or our day-to-day activities. We feel alone somehow, some way.
Sometimes, we miss our partner or parent. Sometimes we struggle with our jobs, or the lack there of. Sometimes we struggle with financial problems, or debt. Sometimes its depression, poor mental health, or physical limitations. Sometimes it's a lack of friends, or a lack of a partner. Sometimes it's illness, or the illness of others.
There is always something.
Everybody Hurts - REM
Well, that's depressing.
Yes, I know it is.
Why did you have to share it then? Why are you talking about it like this?
Because it needs to be out there. In the open. We need to admit to feeling this depressed. We need to admit that we don't always have the Perfect American Life. We don't have it together. We never do. No one is that perfect.
...
Except Jesus.
Well, yeah, but we're not Him. And we can't be. How is that comforting?
Because we can lead by example. We'll never be as perfect of him. But if one takes a close look at the lineage of Jesus in the Bible, you'll find that all the people there were not perfect either. They were prostitutes, tax collectors, adulters and adulteresses, sinners and poor people. The suffered with illness, depression, and being outcasts. Yet God still took each and every single one and used them for a more perfect purpose. Jesus.
Good point. But what does that have to do with my current life woes?
Jesus was perfect. No one else in the bible was. They all sinned. Every single one of them. Before Jesus and after Jesus, all those names in the Bible were names of sinners. Jesus was a turn around point in our lives and our salvation, but not a whole lot changed in the big picture.
Isn't that a bit sacrilegious? And how is that a comfort?
It may be sacrilegious to say so, but it's also the truth. But here's the comfort: Jesus still used those imperfect people in the same imperfect world.
Yes, I know. For the lineage of Jesus.
No. For the lives that continued on after His death. For the people left in the imperfect world that has been turned around by Jesus. We still had the imperfectness, but now there was perfect salvation. Those imperfect people were changed by Him, by His time on earth. And they taught their neighbours the importance of Jesus. And those people taught their friends and neighbours. And so on. And many generations later, here we are.
Yeah. Here we are. Still imperfect, in case you hadn't noticed.
Oh, I noticed. I'm one of them, too. But Jesus still uses me. He uses me to teach others that it's okay to be imperfect. Through me, Jesus teaches those that don't know Him that they really do need to know Him. He teaches that we're all loved for our imperfectness, not for our perfectness. And yet, even though we have that imperfectness, He still uses us. Every day. In every way. In most ways that we'll never truly know. Every day, He is using us as an example.
You're not helping the weight on my shoulders, you know. If anything, you're only adding to it. Now, on top of struggling alone and imperfect, I'm also expected to be God's example with that struggling and imperfectness. Exactly how much failure do I need to see in my life today?
None. Not a single bit. Jesus doesn't see that loneliness in struggles as failure. He sees it as opportunity. He sees it as a chance to connect you with the resources to take away your pain, and by your example, help those around you that still struggle. All we need to do is admit that we have that loneliness, and Jesus takes it away. He gives partners to love, friends to treasure, families to adore, and stability to grasp. All we must do is put our troubles in His big hands, and leave it there. Then He says, "I got this, little one. You need not carry that loneliness any more."
But what if that loneliness doesn't leave? What if he doesn't take away the strugglign?
He always does. He always does. We just need to truly let go and allow God to change that loneliness.
But even if I let him heal that loneliness, I'm still imperfect. I'm still a failure.
Never. Jesus never uses us for failures. Failures are something we hold in our eyes. That failed interview. That failed marriage counselling. That failed debt consolidation plan. That failed child's party. We see failures because we chose to view them as failures. For Jesus, a failed interview is because that's not a job where He can use you. Failed marriage counselling was so that you could move onto someone else. Failed finances was so that you could learn to appreciate money and use it well next time. Failed children's expectations are to teach them valuable life lessons that can't be taught in any other way.
So for Jesus, crying children and dying puppies are successes?
Not exactly. Jesus never gives us struggles we cannot handle. We're given these failures to realize that we need to do better for Him. And to keep Him as our focus. These failures teach us to lead better, to act wisely, and to trust wholly in our God. Hurts give way to bigger plans, better things, and happier times. We just can't see that because we're not quiet up the mountain to the sunset yet.
You see, none of us are failures. None of us are perfect. We simply are Jesus' children, doing the best we can with His help, waiting until He takes us home to eternal life in heaven.
So I don't have to be lonely. And I'm not a failure.
No, you don't. And no, you're not.
And I just need Jesus?
Just Jesus.
That seems so... easy.
Ah, but nothing in this life comes easy, does it? Jesus does ask for something in return.
I knew it! What is it now? Mortgage my house again?
No. Simply this:
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.' "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
(Luke 10: 25-27)
You see, its quite simple. Love the Lord your God. Wholly. Entirely. Completely. With your heart, soul and mind. And love your neighbour as you love yourself. That happy co-worker, the shy friend, or the single parent. Love them as you would yourself.
Doesn't seem like a tall order.
You'd be surprised. Sometimes we get caught up in our own world, that we forget that we're not alone on this planet.
Hence the imperfect part, right?
You bet. And yet we're still loved. We're no longer lonely. We're not longer imperfect to all. As such, we have such peace that we can only share with others in hopes of sharing in that peace and love with them.
Are you lonely? Are you imperfect?
Come join the club. Club Jesus. It's a hard life, but the benefits are amazing.
xo <3 p="">
