In the 2000 film, “Cast Away,” Tom Hanks
plays the part of Chuck Noland, a systems
analyst for FedEx. Noland is constantly on the
road and in the air, traveling from place to
place to troubleshoot problems in locations
around the world. There is a lot of backstory in
the movie, and a lot of relational drama, too.
That is beyond the scope of this article. Most
important is that, on one particular trip to
Malaysia, the FedEx plane goes down, and
Noland is the only survivor. Now alone on a
remote island, he is left only with several
FedEx packages, most of which he opens (but
not all—I’ll leave that discovery for anyone
who wants to watch the film).
One of the packages contains a Wilson
volleyball, upon which Noland ultimately
paints a face and befriends. In his isolation,
this toy becomes his companion. Although the
volleyball never talks back to him (obviously),
he talks to it constantly. It becomes his
confidante. It becomes his only friend. For
four years.
Elton John famously crooned, “loneliness
is tough.” He is correct. Loneliness is tough.
Human beings were never intended to be
alone. “It is not good that the man should be
alone,” said God in Genesis 2:18. As we
discussed last week (and many other times in
the past), God created us to be in community
with one another. From the beginning, God
designed that humanity would live in
relationship with one another. He called
people to be together in his name, and to
enjoy—and imitate—the fruits of the
righteousness of God.
Finally, through Jesus Christ, God
fashioned his church—a gathered people
tasked with loving one another and caring
for one another, while also loving and
caring for the world around them.
In short, God gave us Jesus so that we
might become the righteousness of God.
He sent his only Son so that we may be
near God. He gave us the greatest gift
ever in order that we might become more
and more like God. And, God always
intended that we be together. Never alone.
–Ricky