I have an eccentric habit of appropriating music I listen to by adapting the lyrics to make it more Christian. As the title of this blog suggests, I am thinking of a hit “power ballad” from the 1980’s by the group Heart, “Alone”. You can hear the tortured anguish in Ann Wilson’s voice as she longs to be with  the man of her dreams. The chorus for me does have some Christian overtones, or how we long for the living God:

                                “Til now I always got by on my own
                                I never really cared until I met you…” !

 It is there that the analogy breaks down, I suppose. I also recall that in high school stage band, we did a jazz chart titled “Alone”, which was a trombone feature for me. I made lead trombone in the FL All-State Stage Band, by the way. I know that music was, and still is, soul-satisfying for me. That’s probably why I re-imagine rock hits as Christian anthems. Weird, I know,…

Jesus knew alone. He never wallowed in self-pity because of it, as I have done in the past. Loneliness has nothing to do with how few people you associate with. You can feel crushing loneliness at a party (I have). No one is to blame (title of another ‘80’s song by Howard Jones). It’s a feeling, being alone. There is no rhyme or reason, no right or wrong in that. Jesus was alone because he was misunderstood, even and especially by those closest to him. In those times of solitude, he found holy communion with his Heavenly Father. We can too. Capture and crave those holy moments of one-on-one time with Abba (not the group). Our loneliness in this world is exacerbated by the absence of our Father in most life circumstances. People don’t make time for church or prayer. Unless there are immediate results that are clearly visible, we can’t be bothered.

Jesus knows us. He gets loneliness in a world that longs for the living God. The beauty, the joy is knowing that He promises His presence if we seek Him. He will make His abode with us. He will shower His unconditional love over us. At the end of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”, Kirk says to Spock, “I thought I was going to die”. Spock replies, “impossible, Captain. You were never alone”. Same with us, whether dying or living. God is always present.

Pastor Art