We Are Not AloneSample

In our relationships

It’s a fact of life that human beings were never meant to be alone. You can trace it through the history, as far back as the creation story itself. In the first chapters of Genesis, we find God forming the heavens and the earth, the sky and the waters, light and darkness, the land and its creatures and, finally, humankind, a man and a woman. The man came first but Genesis 2 records how God saw that ‘it is not good for the man to be alone’ (Genesis 2:18). So God created a woman and the two lived seamlessly, as one. They were Godlike in that they were distinctive persons but one in heart and spirit and mind and love. Then their disobedience towards God (Genesis 3) created shame in the human heart and we have been vulnerable to it ever since, like a wedge between humans and between humans and God.

Shame, on account of our sins, manifests itself in all kinds of behavior including self-isolation or distancing; blaming others for our own shortcomings or mistakes; a lack of confidence in ourselves or even self-loathing; and feelings of inferiority, anger, jealousy and bitterness that can lead to acts of disloyalty and injustice towards others.

Despite our imperfection, we continue to live together in villages, towns and cities all over the globe such is the strength of the social side of our nature. Except for the recluses among us, most humans cannot live without other humans around them.

That’s just how we are wired. So, life is complex because although we need each other we are our own worst enemies and can destroy even our most cherished relationships.

At Pentecost, God gave us a divine antidote for the shame effect that can, if we take the Holy Spirit’s presence seriously, liberate our relationships, in our marriages, our families, our friendships, our communities, our churches; wherever we put Jesus at the center and open our lives to the Spirit coming with renewing, revitalizing power. After Pentecost, ‘all the believers were together and had everything in common’ (Acts 2:44).

Prayer: Dear God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I worship you and sense your glory. Fill me afresh this day with a real love for you and for others; help me to see all people through your eyes of loving kindness. Then I will see their true selves and all their potential for good and for God. Amen.