Alone but Not Lonely (by Walt Henrichsen)

“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man on his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” John 16:32

With this verse Jesus draws His Upper Room Savior’s last Discourse to a close. These are the words to His disciples before His betrayal and crucifixion. Because Jesus was intimate with His Father, those around Him – including, the disciples never fully understood Him. Although they spent three years together, much of what He said and did they did not comprehend. In part, this was due to their preconceived convictions regarding the role of Messiah when He came to Israel.

If God is with you, you are never alone, and yet the closer you grow to God the more alone you become in the world.  The world simply has no capacity to understand those motivated to be Jesus’ slaves; they cannot help but assume that you are motivated by the same values as they are.

Because Jesus was not alone in the sense of being One with the Father, He was destined to be alone in every other relationship in life. In a limited sense to the degree that you are committed to Him, His experience will be yours.