transitions cause us to be lonely
when we go through changes and separation causes loneliness.
we are looking at paul and his story in 2 timothy 4. he is in prison so he is isolated from those he loves. and he asks timothy to come see him. he says (ms), get here as fast as you can. in verses 9 and 21 he mentions seven of his different friends. they are his closest friends that he missed. he says, demas… left me here, crescens is in galatia…, titus in dalmatia, luke is the only one with me ... erastus stayed behind in corinth, i had to leave trophimus sick in miletus.
paul was a people person. he never went anywhere by himself. he always had a traveling companion, yet here at the end of his life he’s in prison in a foreign country and he can’t just pick up the phone and reach out and touch somebody. he’s lonely because he’s separated.
twenty-five percent of all americans move every year. as a result we have no roots. that can cause loneliness. separation by the army, by the career, by an illness. that’s a separation and that’s a cause of loneliness.
maybe that is true of you.
opposition causes loneliness. when you’re attacked. when you’re ridiculed, when you’re criticized. verse 14 (niv), alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. it doesn’t say what, but the word “harm” literally means “opposed” or “resisted”. it says, he strongly opposed our message.
just a thought from the front porch…
we are looking at paul and his story in 2 timothy 4. he is in prison so he is isolated from those he loves. and he asks timothy to come see him. he says (ms), get here as fast as you can. in verses 9 and 21 he mentions seven of his different friends. they are his closest friends that he missed. he says, demas… left me here, crescens is in galatia…, titus in dalmatia, luke is the only one with me ... erastus stayed behind in corinth, i had to leave trophimus sick in miletus.
paul was a people person. he never went anywhere by himself. he always had a traveling companion, yet here at the end of his life he’s in prison in a foreign country and he can’t just pick up the phone and reach out and touch somebody. he’s lonely because he’s separated.
twenty-five percent of all americans move every year. as a result we have no roots. that can cause loneliness. separation by the army, by the career, by an illness. that’s a separation and that’s a cause of loneliness.
maybe that is true of you.
opposition causes loneliness. when you’re attacked. when you’re ridiculed, when you’re criticized. verse 14 (niv), alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. it doesn’t say what, but the word “harm” literally means “opposed” or “resisted”. it says, he strongly opposed our message.
just a thought from the front porch…
1 comment:
Boy oh boy how I know how it is to be really lonely but yet with so many people around me. Withdrawing yourself from the world is the easy option, though not the best. Very sober read, thanks Bill.
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