It is not Good for Man to be Alone
Introduction. Jesus described the transition from how we lived before and after we committed our lives to Him as coming out of the darkness into the light. He revealed: “I am the light of the world,” and “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (Jn. 8:12). But not everyone sees Him like this. For “everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (Jn. 3:19-21). So some who hear His words will come out of the darkness, but others will hear the same words, hate the light and refuse to come to the light.
The conflict between those who walk in His light and those who seek to remain in the darkness often becomes so great it destroys the closest and most precious relationships that have taken a lifetime to build. Jesus warned: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;’ and ‘a man's enemies will be those of his own household.’” (Mt. 10:34). Many a disciple who has agonized over the cost of becoming a Christian has found it to be even greater than they feared. Loving relationships severed in a moment because of the hatred of the darkness toward the light. Husbands and wives are sundered, children reject their parents, and best friends who have shared a lifetime of experiences walk away from one another.
The hatred of the light which Jesus came to bring into the world is so great that anyone who stands in that light and allows that light to shine in his own life will be hated also. ““If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (Jn. 15:18).
Only through compromise could we save such relationships, but our love for Jesus and for the truth He came to reveal is so great that we would be unworthy of Him if we compromised to save them. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mt. 10:37).
Yet God’s initial concern for man in the garden still rings true. “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Gen. 2:18). So just as God made provisions in the garden of Eden by creating the family, He has made provisions today for those who because they love His Beloved Son will also be alone.
With great assurance Jesus has promised that all who are forced to become alone for His sake will receive a hundredfold in this life! How can this be? How can Jesus be so certain that everywhere and at any time in this world when a disciple loses friends and family they will receive such a blessing? There are many places in the world today where the churches have nowhere near that number. Jesus knew that “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mt 7:14). He had a much greater and more solid basis for this promise. It is a promise of faith and it takes faith to receive it.
It all centers on a full understanding of the true nature of the new birth (Jn. 3:3-8)! When we were born again of water and the Spirit we chose to leave this world to join Him. As we heard and believed the gospel and the light shone in our heart, we changed our mind about our previous deeds that God condemned and truly repented. We confessed our faith that Jesus was the Christ and made our lifetime commitment to serve Him . Then we joined Him “in His death,” “buried with Him,” “crucified with Him” and “raised with Him” by being baptized. (Rom. 6:3-6). “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ... (Gal 3:27-29). The power of baptism not only brought us “salvation,” “remission of sins” and “brought us into Christ.”, but it is also at this moment that Jesus promise of receiving a hundredfold is given.
When we are “baptized into Christ” and “put on Christ,” we also become Abraham’s seed: “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” (Gal. 4:28), and we are no longer alone! Abraham is our father, Israel is our nation and all the righteous men and women recorded in the Scriptures are our brothers and sisters.
Every Christian all over the world from the beginning until the end is our brother or sister in Christ. As we face each trial and difficulty, we can be comforted “knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (1Pet. 5:9). Abraham longed to be the father of all future generations. No matter what the nation and no matter when they would live in the future, God promised Abraham that all the righteous who would stand before God justified on the day of judgment would be his children.
Conclusion. Sometimes in the still of the night, we remember friendships that were so dear to us that were lost to us because of our faith, conviction, and commitment to Christ. The pain can be softened and eased as we realize that we truly did gain a hundredfold in this life.
The conflict between those who walk in His light and those who seek to remain in the darkness often becomes so great it destroys the closest and most precious relationships that have taken a lifetime to build. Jesus warned: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;’ and ‘a man's enemies will be those of his own household.’” (Mt. 10:34). Many a disciple who has agonized over the cost of becoming a Christian has found it to be even greater than they feared. Loving relationships severed in a moment because of the hatred of the darkness toward the light. Husbands and wives are sundered, children reject their parents, and best friends who have shared a lifetime of experiences walk away from one another.
The hatred of the light which Jesus came to bring into the world is so great that anyone who stands in that light and allows that light to shine in his own life will be hated also. ““If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (Jn. 15:18).
Only through compromise could we save such relationships, but our love for Jesus and for the truth He came to reveal is so great that we would be unworthy of Him if we compromised to save them. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mt. 10:37).
Yet God’s initial concern for man in the garden still rings true. “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Gen. 2:18). So just as God made provisions in the garden of Eden by creating the family, He has made provisions today for those who because they love His Beloved Son will also be alone.
- “So Jesus answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life.’” (Mk. 10:29-30)
With great assurance Jesus has promised that all who are forced to become alone for His sake will receive a hundredfold in this life! How can this be? How can Jesus be so certain that everywhere and at any time in this world when a disciple loses friends and family they will receive such a blessing? There are many places in the world today where the churches have nowhere near that number. Jesus knew that “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mt 7:14). He had a much greater and more solid basis for this promise. It is a promise of faith and it takes faith to receive it.
It all centers on a full understanding of the true nature of the new birth (Jn. 3:3-8)! When we were born again of water and the Spirit we chose to leave this world to join Him. As we heard and believed the gospel and the light shone in our heart, we changed our mind about our previous deeds that God condemned and truly repented. We confessed our faith that Jesus was the Christ and made our lifetime commitment to serve Him . Then we joined Him “in His death,” “buried with Him,” “crucified with Him” and “raised with Him” by being baptized. (Rom. 6:3-6). “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ... (Gal 3:27-29). The power of baptism not only brought us “salvation,” “remission of sins” and “brought us into Christ.”, but it is also at this moment that Jesus promise of receiving a hundredfold is given.
When we are “baptized into Christ” and “put on Christ,” we also become Abraham’s seed: “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” (Gal. 4:28), and we are no longer alone! Abraham is our father, Israel is our nation and all the righteous men and women recorded in the Scriptures are our brothers and sisters.
Every Christian all over the world from the beginning until the end is our brother or sister in Christ. As we face each trial and difficulty, we can be comforted “knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (1Pet. 5:9). Abraham longed to be the father of all future generations. No matter what the nation and no matter when they would live in the future, God promised Abraham that all the righteous who would stand before God justified on the day of judgment would be his children.
- “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’)” (Rom 4:16-17)
Conclusion. Sometimes in the still of the night, we remember friendships that were so dear to us that were lost to us because of our faith, conviction, and commitment to Christ. The pain can be softened and eased as we realize that we truly did gain a hundredfold in this life.