A Desperation for People

Written by: Jazmine Cooper 

I don’t know about you, but these last few months have been really hard. Being away from people truly has hurt me. And the question is, why? Why did I hurt so much simply because we were sent home and we had to continue our education online? And why am I so elated to be back on campus with all my friends? The answer is we are fundamentally created not to be alone.  

We were created as social people. Many people use this example to defend that: Adam was alone, and he did not survive well. It took God giving Adam a partner for him to thrive in his environment. Our literal make-up was not able to function well alone. In the very beginning of Creation, we had this need to have someone by our side. But this isn’t the only evidence to support us being better when we are in community.  

In Matthew, we are told that when two or more gather in the name of Christ, then He will dwell with them. Proverbs also tells us that we sharpen each other just as iron sharpens iron. So, when we are alone, we do not feel the presence of God like we would when we gather in His name together. There are times when it is better to meet the Lord’s presence by yourself, but as the scripture says, we are able to feel His presence when we gather together to celebrate Him. And we learn from each other. That is what the Proverbs verse means: by sharpening each other we help each other to learn and to grow so as to be better. And we haven’t been able to sharpen each other.   

We are challenged in Galatians 6 to carry each other’s burdens so as to fulfil the law of Christ. But that is really hard to do when you are not with the people whose burdens you are meant to carry. I don’t know about you, but I struggle to connect with people over technology. Looking at social media over the last few months actually made me sad because I was aware of the fact that I was alone. There was no one around to carry that burden with me. So, I am so relieved to be surrounded by my friends who will help me carry my burdens as well as help carry theirs.  

All this is just to say that I am so grateful to have the chance to be back on campus. I have missed being surrounded by a community of like-minded people who believe and fight for the same things as me. And I am praying that we are able to stay together for as long as possible, so that we can continue to sharpen each other and help each other grow.