Relationships are the Best Tool We Have

In school a friend of mine and I decided to start a student newsletter. It would be the voice of the common man ringing out against the injustices of the world. Either that or it would be a collection of whatever nonsense we decided to write at the moment. Anyway, Robert and I plunged into the project with passion and energy. Robert was especially fun to work with. He was driven and focused. Working with him was like riding a fast moving wave into shore. You just jump on your board and let it move you along. He also knew more about publishing than I did. Robert and I produced a great newsletter for about a year. And then it stopped. Robert needed to focus his attention on other matters and I lost my partner. It was weird; it was like being dumped by a girlfriend. All of a sudden this person who was leading a project with energy and vitality was gone. And I wasn't able to keep the newsletter going without my partner.

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. And they were all in relationship to each other. The creation story in the first chapter of Genesis describes the creation as being relational. When God created the earth, in order for the land to appear the waters had to separate (Genesis 1:6-8). In order for vegetation to be created, the land had to be created (Genesis 1:9-11). In order for there to be a way to follow time, the Sun and the Moon were created (Genesis 1:14-19). The various elements of the creation are connected in a cosmic partnership.

The same could be said of relationships between people. “The Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). Adam and Eve are partners in the Garden. They need each other and they support one another. When they are cast out of the Garden, to face a life of toil and strife, they stayed together. When God created people, God created relationships.

We also see the importance of relationships in the ties that bind galaxies together. Today’s astrophysicists have shown that galaxies clump together. The massive gravity well created by the Milky Way Galaxy draws our nearest neighbor, Andromeda, closer and closer until one day the two will merge. Out in the deeps of space, large groups of galaxies, such as the Leo Cluster are joined together in a cosmic dance by their mutual attraction. Computer models of the cosmos suggest that the galactic clusters tug against each other, causing the entire cosmos to be connected through gravimetric interaction. Not just the Bible, but modern science shows that everything in the universe is in some sort of relationship with everything else.

These concepts help us to understand why the relationships we develop throughout our lives are so important. The Book of Ecclesiastes says; “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Eccl 4:9-10). We need to have partners to help us with our missions. We need to be in a close relationship with someone else in order to share our deepest thoughts and beliefs. We need a partner to help us complete the tasks that are important to us. It is much better to go through life with friends than to be isolated and alone.

And thus these relationships extend up from the creation, through the relationships between living beings, up to the throne of heaven itself.

God bless you, 

Pastor Bill