Relationship part 1
Jesus didn't come to give humanity a religion. In fact, it seems like the only people He ever got annoyed with were the religious folk. No, He came to show us the Father. He came to bring us into RELATIONSHIP with the Father by showing us that we are God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. But here's the thing about relationships, they seem to come down to two things: Connection, and timing. And one without the other just won't do. A connection with someone might not matter if they aren't in the same place at the same time as you. And you might be the right person, at the right place, but the wrong time. For example: The people of Israel were at Mount Sinai and God--through Moses--asked them if they wanted to enter into a covenant with Him. "Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, "We will do everything the LORD has commanded. We will obey"" (Exodus 24:7). Which, unfortunately, was the wrong answer. Because, as they quickly found out, the covenant was impossible to keep. The Law of Moses was impossible to obey. Especially when Jesus preached it all the way to the max--letting us know that our thoughts and intentions are just as important as our actions. When Jesus said anyone who gets mad at his brother has committed murder He literally disqualified all of us. Because He didn't want any of us under the Law. He didn't want any of us trying to fit into a religious box. He wanted us to come out of the Old Covenant of dos and dont's and into the New Covenant of loving one another as He loves us. He wanted to make that connection between Creator and creation, and between each one of us. And that's where the timing came in. The appointed time--according to the time of life--was the cross. Jesus died, both for us and as us, so that we might live, both for Him and as Him. He didn't just give His life for us, He gave His life to us. He got rid of the separation that the Law had placed between God and man. He drew us into Himself, and planted Himself in us. The timing finally lined up. And you can't get any more connected than understanding that there is only ONE New Man on this side of the cross. Understanding that we are all parts of the same body. We are One. Connected by the only thing that CAN truly connect anybody: Love. Love is the glue that holds us together. And--this SHOULD go without saying but I'm going to say it anyway--relationships are all about love. Relationships are not about what we can get from each other. Relationships are about what we can give to each other. Relationships are about timing and connection. We can't force them to be something they're not. We can't try to control them. But, when we know that we have everything we need (because we have love), we can experience an abundant life by sharing what we have with each other!