The beauty of online learning is that we have had access to education that we otherwise might not. The downfall is that we do much of our learning alone. I’ve started to realize that -for me- isolation mixed with confusion leads to detrimental results…
Such was the case recently when I stared for far too long at a Greek sentence construct. Why can’t I understand what is happening here? Is anyone else as confused as I am? What am I missing? As my frustration continued to build to the point of boiling over, I realized that I’m not frustrated with this work. I’m frustrated because I feel lonely in the process.
I don’t often feel lonely but when I do, I feel it deeply. For me, loneliness seems to find a crack and turn it into a canyon, growing into an ache I cannot shake. As I sat processing the loneliness I was experiencing, the thought came to me, “It is an assault on who you were created to be.” It sounds so dramatic at first, but it is absolutely true. God created us to live in unity with him and with others. If we know the story of the Fall, we know that broken unity was and is one of the most devastating results of sin. God came to earth, as man, to repair this broken unity—our salvation IS restoration to unity. We often think of salvation as getting to go to heaven someday, but when we think of it in those limited terms, we’re missing out on beautiful implications of Christ’s work. Salvation is our restoration to unity with the Divine Trinity. Not simply as an observer but as a participant! It is also our bridge to true and genuine unity with others. The work of Christ enables us to love and coexist in a way that makes absolutely no sense outside of the Gospel. Loneliness feels devastating because it is—unity is literally what we were created for.
We still live within a broken world, and therefore still feel the effects of sin but I refuse to settle for a life tainted by feeling alone. My response that day was to reset my eyes on Christ, give thanks for the life he has enabled me to live and to reach out to several people for support. These small acts were my personal protests against loneliness. Although I may feel lonely at times, I refuse to believe that I am alone because I was created to be known.
Have you felt lonely or effects of loneliness recently? Please reach out so I can pray for you and we can stand together.
-CB
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