WE WERE CREATED TO LIVE WITH OTHERS
Since the beginning of time, God created us to live with others. Genesis 3:18 says, “it is not good for man to be alone.” Adam, as an individual man, was lacking because of his isolation. God saw fit to bring along a woman to join Adam as his wife, for them to be fruitful and multiply, and for the earth to be filled with more people. Then, in Genesis 3, sin entered the world, relationships became fractured, and perfect communion with God and one another was broken.
All throughout Scriptures, we see the tension of that brokenness unfold. Death enters in, people harm one another, they reject each other, and what began as a gift from God becomes a burden we have to learn how to manage. All that to say, relationships are hard. Living in a broken world where sin exists does not set us up well for being in close relation to other human beings. We were not created to live in a world where we experience relational hurt and brokenness.
Yet, God chooses to spread the good news of salvation through a body of believers. 1 Peter 2 refers to us as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s very own possession. Nothing about that implies living a life isolated from others. In order to be obedient and live on mission, we must learn to live in unity with other believers. It’s why Jesus says that loving one another is the second greatest commandment, equally important to loving God. He knows we are created for relationships and that they are valuable, but fruitful relationships require real effort. We all know from experience how difficult it can be to love others.
Part of living a small life is learning how to live with one another in our broken state. It’s why humility and obscurity are foundational ideas that we’ve discussed in past weeks. Until we realize that life is not about us, we are going to have a very hard time seeing how other people bring value to our lives.
As we focus on relationships this week, challenge yourself to really consider how the people you are doing life with have added value to your life. What relationships are life-giving for you? What relationships are challenging? How do you struggle to love others as Jesus commands?
Read Ecclesiastes 4:7–12 and Romans 12:3–16.
- Based on the passages above, why is it good not to live alone
- As believers, how are we to care for one another?
- In what ways do you struggle to love others? Which specific people are hard for you to love?