Relationship part 5
I think what I've been trying to say is that life is better when we understand, and cultivate, and take care of, the people in our lives. When we are in relationship with each other. Direct relationship. Loving relationship. Look at Titus 3:7 in the Message Bible, "God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more to come--an eternity of life!" Restored our relationship and given us back our lives. Because our relationship (with God and with each other) IS our life. To live is to love and to love is to live. Loving is giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. And you can't give--you can't love--unless you have something to give. Unless you have someone to love. It takes two to tango, if I can say it that way. Which is what a relationship is. Two people. Loving and being loved. A Father loving His Son and that beloved Son in whom He is well pleased loving Him back by loving people. Receiving and releasing the gift we've been given. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. And we do all that simply by letting God love us. By knowing and believing that He loves us. I'm convinced that we learn how to love by learning how we are loved. Having faith in God. Believing in love. It is our faith in Christ (God in the flesh, love in a body... God in OUR flesh, love in OUR body) that puts us in direct relationship with God. Because you can't be any more direct, or in any more of a relationship, than having the God who is love living inside you. Living through you. The love inside coming out. Naturally. Again, simply by knowing and believing that its in there. And when we understand that living IS loving--loving IS living--we understand how important relationships are. We understand that there are really only two important things in this life: God and people. Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. Receive and release that gift that has restored our relationship and given us back our lives. Love is what restores what has been lost. Even if you yourself threw it away. We all make mistakes. But God allows U-turns. In fact, I believe He encourages them. Love never fails, because it endures. And, yes, sometimes its a long and winding road. Sometimes we don't understand all of the twists and turns that life throws at us. But, like I tried to bring out in the Rant about longsuffering, we go THROUGH things. We don't have to get stuck. And we don't have to let stuff go through us. What's that old quote? "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." We need each other. We're stronger together. There are things I can't do, that maybe you can. And vice versa. So together we can accomplish a lot more than by ourselves. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (MSG) says it like this, "By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped." Its all about relationship. How we interact with each other. How we live with each other. How we love each other.