Loneliness

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Scripture

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
(John 6:66 NASB)
So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
(John 6:67 NASB)

Observation

As Jesus got deeper into His preaching people discovered that He was extremely serious about the Christian walk. The major feature was to understand and have to believe that Jesus had been sent by the Father. It was a new and radical way of thinking about living the religious life. No longer were we to follow a list of rules, but rather, we were to put on Christ. We were to actually partake of Him and be filled and led by the Holy Spirit. This was something incredibly organic and it couldn't be tied up with a neat little bow. It made many of the followers uncomfortable, and so they decided they simply would no longer follow this man, Jesus. Can you imagine, hundreds of people suddenly dispersing and leaving Jesus alone with the twelve. He looks at them and asks them whether they would like to leave as well, and you can imagine that within them there is a hint of wanting to run. Jesus, at that moment, realizes how alone He is in this world. He is His Father's son, and He belongs to God alone. The world was rejecting Him and even those closest to Him are, more than likely, looking at Him with suspicion.

Application

Sometimes being a follower of Christ can be quite lonely. Just like Jesus, Himself, there are times that those around us "just don't get it." There are times when people don't understand why we do the things that we do as we try to follow Christ. That's because there are times when the decisions made to follow Christ may take us to places that simply don't make sense to the rest of the world -- even those in the religious world. And yet, our daily walk with Him leads us to a place of "putting on Christ" -- and to simple, quiet, and faithful obedience -- even in the face of loneliness. Jesus gained His strength from His Father. We must gain our strength from the Father and walk each and every day in faithfulness to Him.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for Your love and leading each and every day. Thank You for Your presence that is with us in all walks of life. Help me to be be faithful to You, each and every day. Amen.

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