Relationship

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As I’ve heard from one of my favorite Christian apologists Dr. Ravi Zacharias, God lives as a relational and communal being within the trinity.  It is through God’s example of the trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) that we come to understand we are not meant to live in solitude or apart from relationships or community.

A relationship is the more intimate of these two pillars and as a result, there are more intricacies involved with it.  It is through relationship that those that talked with Jesus grew the most and realized the Truth.  It is the personal relationship with God that allows Him to work in and through our lives today.  As this relationship with Him matures we are lead and urged by the Holy Spirit to seek relationships with others that we encounter.  It is not forced however.  A Godly and loving relationship can never be coerced; rather, we choose to step into the lives of others through compassion and commitment.  This is important in the way we do personal evangelism today since people tend to see each other as means to an end rather than unique and amazing bearers of God’s image.   Relationships require love, understanding, trust, and commitment.  When people realize this and see that we are investing in their lives they tend to take what we say more to heart.  Through our actions we are even greater tools for it is written that, “…all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35).

Bringing relationships together we come to our understanding of community, which is the convergence of many relationships into a group with common interests.  It is within a community that we gain knowledge from different viewpoints and a sense of belonging.  The catholic Church is the community of Christians that make up the world and body of Christ.  As we build and invest in relationships with others we invite them to the larger body or community to reinforce the values that are present in the relationship.  It is for this reason that community is so important in today’s society.  Through encounters within a solid Christian community, new believers or those that are searching can see that there is loving support. 

So now what?  

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