Relationships With Each Other

This is a big issue in Christian life! You can look at it from many angles. The problem with Christians relating to one another is that at the core we are all sinners. That means we will all let one another down and even hurt one another. In response to this, many “church folks” think that the way to relate and have unity is to just grin and bear it. In an effort to try to keep the peace, many people will not deal with the issues that hurt or anger them. Then, after a while, they will stop coming or blow up. I have heard many people say that church people get in the way of their relationship with God. I can understand that statement because people you are trying to love and live a deeper life with always have the opportunity to hurt you more than anyone else in the world.

So, what are we to do? How are we to live life together? For deeper reading on the subject, I would recommend Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, Life Together. Past that, I would suggest that we learn to love our Christian friends in a way that the source of our love is not us, but God. If we are only drawing on our own resources to love one another, we are not different than people outside of the church. We are merely barterers exchanging the love we receive for the love we give. If we really believe that we belong to, love and serve Yahweh, the God of the universe, the one that sent His Son, Jesus, to show us His love and character, and to die on the cross for our sins – then we must begin to live with our Christian brothers and sisters in a manner that reflects the love of this awesome God!

In his book, Uprising, (chapters 6-8) Erwin McManus says that broken people are like black holes. They will never be filled up, no matter how much love is shown to them. But, people that learn to live with God as the never ending source of love, can keep on loving, even when that love is not being returned, because God is making them whole, not other people. He goes on to define wholeness as giving more than you take emotionally. If you are a giver, you are more likely to experience wholeness. If you are a taker, you are more likely to experience brokenness.

There is much to say about this topic. I hope you will help me by adding to some of these thoughts or disagreeing with them. I would love to hear from you.

I hope you are experiencing Godly wholeness today!

God be with you on your journey!
Kevin