The need for connectedness (1)

At creation, God looked at everything He had made and said, ‘That’s good.’ Then there came a time when He realised man was lonely, unfulfilled, and incomplete. That’s when He said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone,’ and He made Eve, the first woman. The fact is, none of us can develop to our highest potential unless we’re plugged in to nurturing, life-giving relationships. Here is an example: in twelve-step recovery programmes, the counsellor only does 10 per cent of the work by offering guidance. Ninety per cent of the recovery process takes place because the people in the group challenge, comfort, and strengthen one another. The truth is – we’re shaped by people! The right people help you to become the best version of yourself, and you get to do the same for them. They see a ‘you’ you can’t see at times, they cheer you on as you move towards it, and they ‘get in your face’ when you move away from it. The highest and best form of this relationship is referred to in Scripture as the ‘fellowship of the Spirit’ (see Philippians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 13:14 and 1 John 1:6). It’s not just a social, relational, or intellectual connection, but a deep spiritual link that causes us to thrive. It’s like the difference between bees and butterflies. Butterflies cover more territory, but bees gather more honey. Why? Because they don’t just land on a flower briefly, they stay there and extract the life-giving nectar. God gave David the gift of a Jonathan, and Naomi the gift of a Ruth. And He has people He would like you to meet. So talk to Him today about it.