Relationship part 2
I'm gonna put this as simply as I can: "By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God" (Galatians 3:26 MSG). And that relationship is a Father/Son relationship. Jesus is our true identity. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. That's who we really are. The hidden man of the heart (who is revealed to us, and in us, and through us, and as us every time the Word--love--is made flesh). The inner man. The true you. Jesus. God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. And I like that word "direct" in Galatians 3:26. Because its not a Kevin Bacon six degrees of separation type of deal. Its God living in you. You living in Him. Love living in you. You living in love. That's the only true bond of any true relationship. You have to build on that foundation of love. Everything else is just shifting sand. Think about it... even the people that rile you up the most, the only reason they can get to you is because you care about them. If you didn't, they could just do whatever they wanted and you probably wouldn't even notice. Love is the foundation of relationship. That's what I'm trying to say. And love is giving. If you're in a relationship only because of what you can get out of it... that's not love. That's manipulation and control. And that's messed up. It has to be a two-way street. Me looking after you AND you looking after me. That's the bond that can't be broken. That's when neither of us has to worry about ourselves. Because I've got your back and you've got mine. I'm covered, and so are you. Direct relationship. And, let me just say this real quick about relationships--they work best when its one on one. When other people get involved, be it their opinions or what, things can quickly and easily get messed up. Because things look different from the outside than the inside. And people always see things through the lens of their own baggage. Just because you experienced something in a relationship (romantic or otherwise)... that doesn't mean someone else will. So, like I always say, and I learned this from one of my pastors, "unasked for advice is unwanted advice." Cutting out the distractions and the drama is crucial to any strong relationship. Going to the source when you have a problem is both wise and mature. Direct relationship is the best relationship. And by faith in Christ (one more time, God in the flesh... love in a body... God in YOUR flesh... love in YOUR body) we are in direct relationship with the God who is love. Believing in love is what allows us to experience love by giving away what we've got. The LOVE that we've got. And watch this: You can't give what you don't have, right? You can only give what you do have? So if you act in love (charity) that means, on some level, you believe you are loved. We love because He first loved us. So we can't love until we know and believe that He first loved us. Faith in Christ. Believing in love. Believing that we ARE loved. And then loving God back by loving each other with the love that He loves us with. And if love is the foundation of direct relationship... it is also what that relationship consists of. Alpha and Omega. Beginning and end. And everything in between!