JustDad.Blog

(Dedicated to the memory of Timothy Keller… who was used by God to teach me these truths)

In a previous post I talked about how we are made in the image of God. See Our Father’s Resemblance: Our Raison D’etre

Today I want to talk about my favorite part of that.

When I was in college I made a decision to change majors part way through my sophomore year. I had various reasons for switching away from a pastoral studies major. What prompted it though was my university eliminating the major from their program. This meant I would have been one of the last ones graduating with that major from my school.

It took me most of the first semester to make any sort of decision. By the end I was helping OTHER people pick their majors because I knew the academic handbook backwards and forwards. At one point my mom had suggested transferring to a different school and taking on a communications major, but I wasn’t entirely interested in the transfer.

One night I was laying in bed…. And it hit me like an anvil! Communications! That was my major. Looking back now I know that it was God. I jumped out of bed and plotted out the rest of my college career. In the next couple of hours, no less.

Communication Studies (in addition to Bible) has been the focal point of my academic career.

The academic field of Communication focuses, among other things, on different levels of Communication:

-Interpersonal Communication (1-1 relationships, generally, but can include groups and families)

Group Communication (2-12 people typically)

-Public Speaking,etc.

When I was in college I used to joke that God’s favorite subject was Interpersonal Communication. To this day I am fond of saying that we don’t just serve a personal God, we serve an Interpersonal God.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have existed in relationship with one another since before the world began. There’s a profound mystery to this reality…. How does One God, exist as three persons? Honestly I don’t know… but He does

This profound mystery undergirds reality as we know it.

Before sin happened God was watching his new son Adam and he declares:

“It is not good for the man to be alone. Let Me make a well-matched helper for him.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬ ‭TLV‬‬

Though not the subject of this post it is worth noting here that the Hebrew word for helper is: ezer. It is most frequently used for God. My wife thinks the better translation would be: life-saver… and entirely agree… but I digress.

Though this passage results in the institution of marriage, I don’t believe it’s just about that.

Adam being alone is a problem….. not just because he is lonely, but because that loneliness is a reflection of a deeper reality.

You see Adam is made in Gods image….but God is a multi personal being. Adam is one person…. So on his own he can not reflect God perfectly. He NEEDS other persons to fully reflect God.

It is not good for Adam to be alone… because he is not supposed to be!

It is not good for YOU to be alone! You are not supposed to be! I’m NOT talking about marriage alone. I’m talking about Community. You need community. We all need community.

It IS true that God takes us through seasons where this is not possible… or he takes us through seasons where we need to refocus on him.

Our other relationships have a tendency to become an idol…. Whether they be with romantic partners, kids, a best friend, etc.

There are in fact times where God takes us into a wilderness of sorts so we can learn that HE is the main one we need.

That being said… We are the body of Christ. The hand needs the eye, the eye needs the ear, etc.1 we TOGETHER are the bride of Christ.2

So… how do we apply this?

You have probably heard it said “ It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”

This runs against the grain of American culture which is pretty focused on the importance of being qualified and competent. Nevertheless, this statement remains true. It’s also true, that the rich have a tendency to abuse this reality to the detriment of others. Pretty much everyone has this tendency. Favoritism, especially on the basis of wealth, is expressly taught against in the Bible.

I’m not talking about favoritism, especially not on the basis of a particular physical or economic trait. I’m talking about family relationships.

The world runs on relationships. It runs on relationships because it was created by and is sustained by this interpersonal God. He is driven by relationships…He wants a family… quite frankly… He is a family…

Before man, before angels, before anything: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were. They just were. They loved each other, lived with each other, etc. God was a pulsing LOVE vortex….

What is the most loving thing this pulsing, multi personal being could do?

Well in Genesis 1-2 we find our answer He Created more beings to love.

People question whether this WAS in fact the most loving thing based on what happens next in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3 Humanity sins, resulting in death, resulting in pain, murder, and more.

But before we go there (another day) let’s stay in Genesis 1 and 2 for a moment.

God creates the world in a beautiful display of his artistry and goodness. Think of your last trip to the oceans, the mountains, the unsalted lakes.. pick your pleasure. Think of your favorite pet. Think of the awe you feel there. God created those things!

More than that think of the loving relationships you experience in family. If you don’t have those, think of the pain you feel from their loss. Is there anything you wouldn’t do to keep or have that deep love and affection in your life.

We are literally driven by a need for love… a need for affection. Different people fill this need in different ways. Some men might be reading this post thinking that it’s actually that job or that jet ski that drives them…. But wouldn’t that job or that jet ski be meaningless without someone to share it with?

We are literally driven by relationships…

So may you be FIRST driven today by your interpersonal God and a relationship with Him. Then, May you reach out to another to love, to serve, and to ask for help.

God is love and He loves you soooo much!

Footnotes

1. See 1 Corinthians 12-14

2. See Ephesians 5:27-32