Relationships

The Foundation of Our Relationship With God and Others 
by Marvin R. Knight

Introduction:
One of the ancients said that his aim was to have his house by the side of the road and to be a friend to man. The deepest need of life outside of personal redemption is relationships with others. Ships possess anchors, but the ship’s purpose is not the anchor. It is built for sailing. Birds possess feet, but their design is not for walking—the bird is built for the air. Likewise, as human beings, we may possess many talents and gifts, but God built us for relationships.

 Read Genesis 2:1-18

In this divine summation of God’s creation, we find man’s creation (2:7), man’s vocation (2:8-15), man’s probation (2:17), and man’s relation (2:18)—“It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Until this point, everything that God created was “good” (Hebrew “tôwb”); that is to say, it was beneficial, pleasing, pleasant, favorable, lovely, and right. It was good in every way: practically, economically, materially, morally, philosophically, and spiritually. But when man was “alone,” God said it was “not good.” It was not good for man “to be alone,” to become a loner, or to exist alone. We were and are created for worship and relationship with God and others.

In this study, let’s go mining for meditation on some of the golden nuggets of truth from Scripture. You may not hold on to every truth you read, but allow the Word of God to do its cleansing and purifying work and you’ll be blessed. Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). The Word of God washes the mind and cleanses the heart as we receive it with a trusting heart and a view to personal application.

There is an incident that illustrates this truth from Dr. Richard Newton, who is considered to be the prince of preachers to children:

There is the story of an old woman who had in her hand what seemed like a square sieve [a utensil consisting of a frame with wire mesh used for sorting solid materials from liquid] in a stream…allowing water to pass through it. As she did this, a clergyman came along, and stopped to see what the old woman was doing. She turned around and looked at him, and the moment she saw him she said: “Oh sir, I am very glad to see you.” He replied: “I do not know how you can be; I am a stranger in these parts, and I was not aware that I was known.” “Well,” said she, “I heard you preach a sermon many years ago which was blessed to my soul, and I have been a different woman ever since.” “I am thankful to hear it,” he replied, “what was the text?” “I don’t remember the text,” she added. “But,” he said, “it is very curious that a sermon should have been blessed to your soul, and yet that you cannot remember the text.” “Well,” she replied, “you see, I have some wool in this sieve, and my mind is very much like the sieve, which is full of holes. The water runs through the sieve, but as it runs through, it cleanses the wool. Now that text of God’s Word went through my mind, and though it did not stop there long enough for me to remember it, yet as it went through, it cleansed me, and I have been a different woman ever since.”1

You may not remember every point, but when you hear the Word with a receptive and teachable spirit, it will go through your soul and cleanse it so that you are refreshed and strengthened.


Truth for Life

  1. Relationships are a part of the essence of who you are as a being created in the image of God. (Gen 1:26-28)
     
  2. Because we are image bearers, the kinds of relationships we possess or lack encompass a moral component for which we will be held accountable by God. (James 4:17; Rom.14:23)
     
  3. A terrible aspect of eternal judgment will be the forfeiture of all relationships. (Matt 25:30)
     
  4. The kind of relationships you have can either corrupt or sharpen your character. (1 Cor 15:33; Prov 27:17)
     
  5. The choice of close, binding relationships (marital, spiritual, or legal) must be done thoughtfully, deliberately, and carefully. (John 2:24, 11:1ff)
     
  6. A distinction must be made between friendships, acquaintances (partnerships), and relationships. (John 15:13-14; James 4:4)
     
  7. Special relationships are both a need and a gift. (Luke 22:28; Mark 9:2, 14:32-34)
     
  8. We feel some of the deepest wounds in our closest relationships. (Zech 13:6; Prov 27:6)
     
  9. The most fruitful relationships take time and require not just work, but the right kind of work. (Is 66:8a)
     
  10. Intimate relationships call for the unfolding of the heart. (John 15:15; Mark 14:32-42; Prov 27:5)
     
  11. Relationships are not more precious to women than they are to men; rather, it is an element of a woman’s unique design by God. (Gen.2:18, 25)
     
  12. We ought to seek some relationships, not because it is easiest or agreeable to our nature, or gives us some advantage or even some selfish feeling of worth, but because it is God’s will. (Rom 12; 1 Cor 12)
     
  13. Relationships don’t make life meaningful; life makes relationships meaningful. And spiritual life makes them profitable both now and in eternity. (1 Cor 10:31; 1 Tim 4:7-8)

Food for Thought and Action:

The story is told of a sculptor who had chiseled in marble a statue of St. George and set it before a church in Florence. Michelangelo was asked to see it. He stood before the marble and was amazed at the success of the young artist. Every feature was perfect. The brow was massive. Intelligence beamed from the eyes. One foot was in the act of moving as if to step forward. Gazing at the splendid marble figure, Michelangelo said, “Now, march!” No higher compliment could the great artist have paid to St. George in marble. Yet, there was no response. The statue was perfect in all the form of life, but there was no life in it. It could not march.

It is possible for us to have all the forms of life in our spiritual profession, our fundamental beliefs, our morality, and our Christian achievements and friendships, and yet not have life in us. Spiritual life is the great blessing we must first seek in relationship with God through personal surrender to Christ by faith.2

Notes

1 W.H. Griffith Thomas, Life Abiding and Abounding, pp.16-17
2 J.R. Miller, Turning Northward, p.348