ODJ: designed for relationship
October 6, 2010
So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them (v.27).
READ: Genesis 1:26-27
Human beings are mysteriously designed for relationship. Isolate someone in a room and eventually he or she will become stressed, and confused, and their sleep will be disturbed. The chronically isolated person will become ill more often and have a higher risk of heart disease. In fact, their genes will begin to decay—one researcher likened chronic loneliness to “premature aging.” Like flowers without sunlight, we wither without social connection. But why? Why are we so relationally wired—with food, water, and shelter insufficient to keep us healthy?
Christians believe in the triune God. Scripture stresses that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), but also reveals that this God is a community of three persons—Father, Son, and Spirit. We see all three members of the Trinity present at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:16-17). We are to be baptized in the name of all three (28:19). And looking back, we may even see all three present in the world’s creation—Father directing the process (Genesis 1:1), Spirit hovering over the waters (v.2), and Son as the Word of God (John 1:1) through whom creation is spoken into existence (Genesis 1:3-24).
If God Himself is a community, is it any wonder that when God makes humans in His image (1:26-27), He makes them as relational beings? Male and female unite (2:24), and the result is a family (1:28). The siblings born become supports during times of adversity (Proverbs 17:17). Friends become those who sharpen us morally (27:6,17). In origin and function, we are relational to the core.
Loneliness in our homes, churches, and neighborhoods must be remedied by Christian love. In befriending the lonely, we reveal something of the triune God who made us. —Sheridan Voysey
Do you know someone who needs a friend? What can you do today to love that person?
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