Connection (1)

At creation, God looked at everything He had made and said, ‘That’s good.’ But He soon realised that Adam, the man He’d created, felt 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’s an example: in some recovery and rehabilitation groups, the counsellor only does 10 per cent of the work by offering guidance. The rest of the recovery process happens because people in the group challenge, comfort, and strengthen one another. The truth is, we’re influenced 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’ that you can’t see at times, they cheer you on as you move towards it, and they turn you round when you move away from it. In the Bible, the highest and best form of this relationship is called ‘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 helps us thrive. It’s like the difference between bees and butterflies. Butterflies cover more ground, but bees gather more honey because they don’t just land on a flower for a few moments, they stay there and extract every drop of the life-giving nectar. God gave David the gift of a Jonathan, and Naomi the gift of a Ruth. And He has people He’d like you to meet. So today, talk to Him about the connection He’d like you to make.