S200P12 – Who we were: alone

Eph. 2:13-15

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity.  He who made both groups—[Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace.

The world is a mighty big place with many, many people.  If you have ever been to a city like New York or Beijing it can be very overwhelming. It seems like everywhere you go there are more and more people.  Big cities like this are places where we think we could never be alone.  This might be true if we are thinking from a physical perspective.  On another level, however, this is not the case.  I can ride a subway car that is packed shoulder-to-shoulder and still be alone.  I can walk down a sidewalk next to hundreds of other scurrying pairs of feet and still be alone.  Being alone is about being without companionship.  If one is surrounded by only enemies, one is certainly alone.  And no matter how full our lives were before coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we were alone.

There is only one relationship, one companionship, that is necessary for life.  Without it, scripture says we are dead.  It is the relationship that we have with God through his Son Jesus Christ.  You can be the most popular kid in the biggest school with the most friends and the most followers and likes, but this does not mean you are not alone.  All of those things, and those relationships, will one day pass away.  None of them lasts.  When they are gone, we are left with nothing unless we have an eternal relationship awaiting us.  To say that we were far away from the Father before we were brought near to him by the Son seems like an understatement.  Without Jesus, we are eternally separated from the Father.  We can be no farther from him.  We go to the Father through the Son and gain a relationship that guarantees we will always have a companion and never be alone.

There is something inside of us that hungers and thirsts for God.  Some people spend an entire lifetime trying to fill that space with something other than our Father in heaven.  That space is reserved for him.  We can fill that with everything else there ever is to know and have, but we will feel just as empty and alone. God has a special place inside each of us that He desires to fill, a place where He desires to reside.  He is the only one who can fill that space and satisfy us.  No other person or thing can fit there.  But when we allow him to live inside us and complete that part of us, then the void of eternal companionship is filled to overflowing.  Father, thank You for giving your Son so that we may have an eternal relationship with You and be alone no more.