Reconnection to God and with others is God’s goal in salvation. It is not just being reconnected with Him, it’s reconnection, and relationship with others too. In fact relationship with people is absolutely crucial to our spiritual growth and following dreams.
We grow through letting our walls down, through authenticity, intimacy, and allowing others to have influence, and access to our lives and bringing who we are to the table in order to bless and strenghten others.
It’s actually not ‘all’ Good when it’s just you and God. It’s not healthy when we think it’s only about about our vertical realtionship with God, chatting to God, reading the Bible, having personal encounters with God. What God does in those precious personal enounters gets outworked and made manifest in relationship with people. Indeed Individualism is a war against God’s design. He wants to build a church family that echoes and reflects the relationship the Trinity has with one another. Family is God’s BIG IDEA. Maturity gets expressed person to person, not just person to God. The ultimate mark of maturity is love. 1 Cor 13.
We often don’t choose because Family is messy, it difficult having to walk deeply with imperfect people. It takes hard choices to stay in family. Community often doesn’t bear fruit immediately, obviously and quickly. Love takes effort, sacrifice and often costs. It costs to work through disagreements, and differences.
But Family is key to our growth in maturity, character, and godliness. We are called to be interdependent. In Ephesians 4 we read about the body working together, how Individuals meet the needs of one another, giving strength, empowerment, and wisdom. How the dream you carry is given to supply what another person, community, or nation needs. Interconnectedness is about you playing your part by fulfilling your role in the body. Every believer has a dream and piece to contribute to the increasing maturity of the body.
To love well well requires repentance. It requires we change the way we think about ourselves and others. It involves pulling down strongholds that keep us locked in and hidden from other people. Relational wounds we’ve picked up can be healed. You can learn to trust, risk, and grow in love.
Jamie Lee, 26/08/2018