The Connection We Crave
We were built for Connection. God existed as Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Trinity. He existed in the community before the beginning of time.
Some of you aren't Christians, and maybe this is the first time you're hearing that God is three and God is one. I went to seminary; gave my life to studying God and it's still hard for my brain to get around that too. But it's true.
“God has always existed in community. He never was lonely.”
Because of love, They created the angelic realm and the human realm. It may sound crazy but I've seen evidence of all of this in my life. It's not just that I've read it in Scripture. It's also that I've experienced God. I've experienced the Holy Spirit and I've experienced it in seeing the life of Jesus.
CREATED TO BE C O M M U N A L
When He created man on the earth, He looked at the first man and said,
“It is not good for man to be alone”.
This verse has been used in the context of marriage and family, however, it's bigger and deeper than that. Out of that family, God was going to build communities, villages, and nations. Out of that family, he would build what would become the local church.
Yes, it meant that the woman would be created so that the two of them could build families together. But it also was created so that people would exist in a community and take care of each other. This is how life would be most meaningful.
“It isn't good for us to be alone. Yet most of us feel alone. What I love about God is that He builds families where there are none.”
You may feel like you’re alone right now; unable to even imagine a friend much less a family. The Scripture says that He sets people in families, meaning that He creates communities where there is isolation. He's good at this. This is His specialty.
The Enemy Comes to Kill, Steal and Destroy
We are communal because God is. We were made in His image, but there's an enemy that hates it. So, we’re standing in the broken cultural world where we don't borrow things, we don't need each other, we don't depend on each other and we don't gather around fires.
Instead, we set alarms and build fences. That's who we are as a culture. Not only are we up against that culturally, but there's also an enemy that absolutely hates it.
>>> Let’s say you've had a healthy relationship. You have a friend and they’re maybe even in a small group that you find life-giving; where you can be safe, seen, and known. Then over time, you get to a point where there's so much conflict that you part ways because it isn't working. That’s strategic.
If people are together on a mission, doing the things that God made them do, if there's goodness, grace, and hope building up and pouring out of a group of people that love each other, are connected to each other, and taking care of each other, it changes lives.
In healthy churches where that happens, it’s contagious. People are drawn to it. Then the enemy hates it. He wants to twist it, change it, break it, and divide it.
“Apart from the spirit of fear that I believe is unleashed on the earth, there's also a spirit of division. It's happening in families, churches, in America, and other countries. It's probably happening in your neighborhood with your friends. We're all divided.”
We can change all of that; we can fight back and recognize that that's how the enemy works. He seeks to kill, steal and destroy. The community is the best for kindness and aspects of it are from God; those delightful parts.
It makes sense that the enemy hates and wants to kill and destroy it every time it busts up and exists. Why am I telling you this? It’s because if you don't know it's the enemy, you're not going to fight against it. You're going to walk away from the friendship and give up.
However, if you think to yourself: ‘God gave me these people. God is building this in my life.’ Then, maybe you'll fight for it differently.
We Need Both God and Friendships
to Satisfy Our Cravings
One of the other things I talked about in chapter two of my book, is that we tend to look at relationships to meet needs in our souls that people will never meet. The things you most crave will most likely never be fully satisfied in the deep rich community. On the other hand, there are things you crave that a group of people around you, loving and helping you love God, is going to satisfy. It's going to be a gift, but there are parts that only God is meant to satisfy.
The thing we crave most is
identity + purpose + connection with God.
Those are the things that matter most in your soul. They’re found in God and when you find those things, people can’t disappoint you.
Consequently, the most essential truth is knowing that people will disappoint you, and you will disappoint them, but God will never disappoint us. So when God is the center of your life, then there's a sense of connection with Him that fills your soul.
You can still go to your relationships and need things from them; share what's going on that's hard, run errands together, laugh, and have great experiences together. You're still going to need those things but you're not going to them for the most core and fundamental needs that you have in your soul.
However, without your people, you will be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. You’ll feel like you can't love God. Therefore, you need both God and people.
“It happens simultaneously; where we're running with our people, we're fighting our sin and we're fixing our eyes on Jesus together. This is how it's supposed to go.”
[WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?]
Grab those people as fast as you can and say: ‘help me do this’. Don't wait until you're perfectly healthy, your identity secure and your purpose is clear to bring people into your life.
Find Your People
