ALONE with none but thee my God is the opening line of a hymn believed to have been written by St Columba, that great Irish saint of the 6th century who not only founded many churches in Ireland but also, having moved to the island of Iona, was a major influence in the conversion of Scotland.
The words reflect a sense of security and peace that come from his understanding of God. The spiritual writer Harry Cargas reminds us that being alone is not necessarily a lonely experience. “The word lonely connotes isolation dejection. The root of alone is in two words: all one. This means the opposite of isolation and dejection. The emphasis is not on the one but on the wholly one.” He goes on to point out that it is difficult for many of us to respect ourselves, to self-develop to such a degree that we look forward to being alone. “Too often we are frantic for companionship – for the team or the club or the party or the TV. Immersion in such activities will free us from having to face the basic issues of existence . . . and from intimate contact with ourselves.
“The kingdom of God is within each of us but how seriously do we try to make contact with it?”
Being alone in the first instance is being in communion with oneself, at ease with oneself. The competitive world we live in can easily sow seeds of doubt in our minds about our worth. Actor Kevin Costner made that point at the recent sad funeral of singing star Whitney Houston when he spoke of the internal struggles that come with fame and worldly success: “Call it doubt, call it fear, I’ve had mine. The Whitney I knew, despite her success and worldwide fame, still wondered, ‘Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me?’ It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble in the end.” No one is immune from self-doubting or a loss of self- esteem. Young people are given images of “success” that are unreal and often unattainable. Older people can spend too many of their later years wishing they had done things differently and feeling that their lives were wasted.
This is where the next level of communion is so important – alone with God. In that relationship we rediscover our worth, for as the psalmist put it we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. And gifted too as Jesus so often demonstrated when he highlighted the gifts and qualities to be found in seemingly unpromising lives.
Time spent alone with God, can renew and deepen our sense of personal worth. Jesus told us to love our neighbours as ourselves – the last two words are very important because loving ourselves, thinking well of ourselves is not immodest because our worth is not self-given but God given. Worship is, in part, about giving honour to God for what is good in us.
Tomorrow’s Gospel reading reminds us of the demanding nature of such a relationship, seen in the wilderness testing of Jesus and his self-understanding. It is not surprising that the word “if” is a feature in those temptation encounters: “If you are the Son of God.” Jesus is assailed by unsettling questions and hints that the rewards would be better in the “real” world. Everyone has times of doubt and uncertainty but they are part of the spiritual journey, the learning and the growing. A faith that has not struggled may well be lacking when trouble comes.
The Rev David Runcorn explains: “The desert is the place where God’s people learn hard lessons of life and faith. It is a place to learn the real priorities and there is no respect for human status or strength. To contemplate the desert is to understand the call to walk by faith in God alone. It is a place that simplifies us, down to our true selves until we are ready to meet the God of life and death.” It is the place to be alone with none but thee my God.