The sovereign holy God of Creation has made a forever path into His Presence, apart from our own efforts and futility; down through our isolation and loneliness – and His name shall be called “Immanuel”;
Pastor Rick Warren famously started his best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life with this statement: “It’s not about you” (Warren, 2013). Warren began his book this way to remind his readers that our lives are greater than seeking our own fulfillment, or peace of mind, or our own happiness. Our lives started with God, and He has a purpose for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV). Our Creator God desires a relationship with us (Leviticus 26:12).
While Warren meant to stir up his readers with that opening line, his statement is spot-on truth: we live our lives as if it is all about us. We attack everything in our lives based on our selfish predispositions – and according to one expert, it’s making us sick (Varley, 2024). That includes our drive to chart our own path. Sometimes that means we will choose to go it alone.
According to the AARP Bulletin for November-December 2025 (Harrar, 2025), 24 million Americans 50 years of age and older have chosen to live alone – this is 21% of US Adults over 50 (Harrar, 2025). Some of the reasons for the large numbers of “solo-agers” as they are called include the rise of marital separation and divorce among those 50 and older – 1 in 4 divorces were among those 65 and older (Jayson, 2023). Some of this increase in “solo-agers” has to do with greater longevity. Much of this has to do with these individuals choosing to live their own life and do what is important to them (Harrar, 2025).
In the results of a similar survey on these “solo-agers” (Salamon, 2025), the question was asked about the benefits of living alone (Salamon, 2025). Some answers included freedom and autonomy; others cited control of their own choices and decision-making. Some mentioned not being responsible for others. Sounds liberating, doesn’t it?
Yet when you look closer at the data, two in five (that’s 40%) of “solo-agers” who responded said loneliness and isolation were the worst parts of aging alone (Harrar, 2025). Solo-agers also expressed that they were anxious, overwhelmed and sometimes sad. They are looking for autonomy yet desire connections, even as they want to remain in charge and independent. The research shows that deep down they are concerned about many things. They are concerned about losing their independence and needing help. About 11% have at least one child; but they are estranged from them (Salamon, 2023). The word “alone” showed up two dozen times in one research summary (Harrar, 2025).
In a related article (Nania, 2024), the results of a study of more than 280,000 adults found that about 1/3 of adults over 50 reported feeling lonely or socially isolated. This feeling of loneliness and isolation is linked to many negative health consequences, including a higher risk of developing dementia, depression, and even heart disease (Nania, 2024).
“It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). God made this statement after creating the man and placing him in this beautiful garden. The man had everything imaginable, with access to anything that he could want. This was independent living for sure! But God vocally perceived that the man was missing someone like him with whom he could build a relationship. That word “alone” in this verse means “isolated.” The word references separation, like a branch of a tree needing the tree; or like a part of the man’s body was missing. Perhaps that is why God put the man into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs to fashion his partner (Genesis 2:21-22).
When the Bible describes God, it refers to God as self-sufficient. But man is dependent, and being alone is a burden for him. God recognized this, but of course God knew this all along. He didn’t just figure this out in the garden – this was a part of His plan from the beginning. Later, Jesus would say that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). This means that we cannot exist alone apart from God and His divine help. Why would we want to? As God provided for man in the garden, later He would establish a marriage covenant (Genesis 2:24). This union was a proxy for Himself as our sufficiency. And God has provided a forever cure for our loneliness – and this happened in a most unusual place.
At this time of year, the gospel stories of the Birth of the Christ child highlight the isolation of His mother Mary and Joseph, trekking toward a far-away city to be counted as a part of a census being taken (Luke 2:1-5). Matthew’s version of the Birth of Christ focuses on the troubling matter of mother Mary being pregnant prior to her marriage to Joseph (Matthew 1:18-19).
According to one author (Carlson, 2017), Matthew’s gospel is designed as an “inclusio” – a literary technique where a text or letter begins and ends with similar words or a similar theme, connecting the beginning and the end (Got Questions, 2025). Matthew begins his gospel identifying the promised Messiah Jesus connected with Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 7:14). He linked the prophetic word through Isaiah with a truth that now we will never be alone – he reminds his readers that God promised “Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Then at the end of his gospel, Matthew completes the picture, highlighting how Jesus reminded His disciples that as in the beginning of His life, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
This approach really helps shape how we view Christ’s entry into the world on that Christmas Day. He did not just come as God’s Word made flesh (John 1:1), although He was. He did not just come to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28), although He did. He came to remove the wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14) between God‘s creation and His Presence. He came to “tabernacle” with us (the meaning of the word “dwell” in John 1:14). This is a picture of the Presence of God through the tabernacle in the wilderness, whose usefulness was replaced by Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-12).
We were once at enmity with God (Romans 8:7; Ephesians 2:1-3; James 4:4). And God broke through to do something that we could not do. God descended into our isolated, sin-filled world by sending Jesus as our “Immanuel,” offering us the opportunity to be in an eternal relationship with Him forever, vanquishing loneliness and isolation (Van Weelden, 2023). Christ took on human flesh and dwelt among us – and He remains among us still through the Spirit whom He sent (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:14).
Here is where we must embrace His purpose for coming. It is so much more than reindeer paws and silver bells and holly branches and sleigh rides. We must embrace Immanuel as our Savior and as our guide into the very heart of God. And then we will never be alone. We can live alone, but we don’t have to be lonely. Not anymore.
Human tragedies may strike us. A spouse may die suddenly; or perhaps over an extended period of time. We may not choose to live alone, it may just happen to us. But we are never really alone now, once we recognize that God is with us as “Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is God dwelling among His people. And in the near future, God will fulfill His promise of the New Heaven and New Earth as told in the Book of Revelation – where He will dwell with us forever (Revelation 21:3). In this place, there will be no more tears, or death, or guilt or pain or isolation (Revelation 21:4).
Is it all about me? Actually, it’s all about me and you and everyone on earth, and those that have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1) and those that come after us. The sovereign holy God of Creation has made a forever path into His Presence, apart from our own efforts and futility; down through our isolation and loneliness – and His name shall be called “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
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