 elationships exist because God the Trinity exists!
Christianity is different from Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam because
of the Trinity. Judaism and Islam are absolutely monotheistic;
there is no personal differentiation in the Godhead. In those
two religions god is lonely. He only has himself to relate to.
Christianity says that God relates within Himself as three persons
who are in an everlasting, eternal “dance” of joy. Hinduism
says in one of its forms that all is god. Reality is all one,
which is pantheism, or as Francis Schaeffer would say,
paneverythingism. Ultimately, in Hinduism,
personality and relationship is an illusion that will disappear.
 Christianity teaches instead that
relationship has preceded everything. God is One in three
persons, therefore, God is relationship. In the
first chapter of the Bible we have the Spirit of God hovering over
the earth, and we have two members of the Trinity communicating over
the creation of the “relaters,” Adam and Eve. We can relate
because we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Relationships, however, are at their greatest health when they are
infused with the character of God.
The
quality of our relationships are completely dependent upon our
willingness to enter into a friendship with God. Scripture
teaches us that we can love when we accept the love that God has for
us. We love because He first loved us. We did not
initiate any relationship with God. He did that for us.
We are merely responders. Our great responsibility is to
explore the depth of love that God has given through His Son Jesus
Christ.
We
are also called to relationships with others. It is having
God’s kind of love in our lives, "agape love" the Bible calls it,
for others. This love is emotional and profoundly sympathetic.
Probably
the best way to describe the use of the Bible is that it is the
Book of Relationships. The Bible is not an end in itself,
but it is a tool to create healthy relationships with God and
others. Evil attitudes and acts and ineffective communication
is dealt with in the Bible because it is telling us what love is
not. We are not left in the dark as to what God considers
normal and healthy, nor is there little doubt within the pages of
the Bible as to what is unhealthy. We have principles and
models, with the greatest model being the Trinity, the eternal
romance.
|
Studies on various aspects
of the Relationships theme are listed on the right.
Just select the topic of interest and click! Or
return to the Content
Library to view other themes. |
|
|
