is loneliness a sin?

I've heard various answers to this question over the years... and sadly, most of them seem to say, "Yes, it's a sin to feel lonely." And even sadder still are the extremists who say that, because I feel lonely, I must not be a "true" or "real" Christian, because if I were then I'd know that I'm never alone because I have Christ within me.

Of course, being a Christian for 27 of my 30 years on this earth, I am fully aware of that! There has never been a time in my life when I did not know that God loved me and had a plan for my life (pardon the Campus Crusade flashback). The thing is, as I contemplated in a previous blog about Adam and Eve, "it is not good for man to be alone."

So where does loneliness fit into our Christian lives? Personally, I do not believe it is a sin -- after all, wasn't Jesus lonely and longing for companionship in Gethsemane? (I can certainly relate to His letdown of finding His companions asleep!) And as Jesus was completely without sin, there must be some other reason for loneliness. Draw us closer to God? Undoubtedly. There is no person on earth that can fill that God-shaped hole. But I'm inclined to think we have another hole within us... certainly not as large as the void of a God-less life, but just as real and valid.

"It's not good for man to be alone." Okay then, we know it's not good. But the fact is, several of us (myself included) are alone. Some people are called to live a single life, which I think is amazing -- I sometimes wish I were one of them. But I know what my calling is, and waiting for its fulfillment often seems extremely unfair. Yet wait I must. Clearly there's some purpose for going through this period of loneliness. Perhaps it's simply to reiterate the point that, however much I may long for love and companionship on this earth, my ultimate love is my Savior and Redeemer. Or perhaps there's something more....

I haven't really fleshed this all out. Any thoughts?