“He never smiled so sweet before
Save on the Sea of Sorrows, when the night
Was saddest on our heart. We followed him
At other times in sunshine. Summer days
And moonlight nights he led us over paths
Bordered with pleasant flower; but when his steps
Were on the mighty waters, when he went
With trembling hearts through nights of pain and loss
His smile was sweeter, and his love more dear;
And only heaven is better than to walk
With Christ at midnight over moonless seas.”
Loneliness is one of the most pathetic of all human experiences. The yearning for companionship is one of the deepest of all yearnings. The religion of Christ has something to meet every human need; what is its blessing for loneliness? We may turn to the Master’s own life for answer to our question. He met all the experiences that ever come to ours, and he found himself the best there is to be found in the divine love to meet each experience. Thus he showed us what we may find in our times of need and how we may find it.
Christ’s loneliness was one of the bitterest elements of his earthly sorrow. All great persons are solitary people, for there are so few others in whom they can find companionship. Christ was the greatest man who ever lived on the earth. His very greatness of character made it impossible for him to have any real companionship among men. Besides, those whom he came to bless and save rejected him. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” The only human relief to his loneliness along the years of his public ministry was in the love of his chosen friends, and this was most imperfect and unsatisfactory.
But we know where he ever turned for solace and comfort in his experiences. After a day of pain and suffering he would climb the mountain and spend the night in communion with his Father, returning in the morning renewed and strong for another day of beautiful life. In his darkest hour he said that though left alone as to human companionship, he was not alone, because his Father was with him.
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