A word that often crops up in most discussions about our relationships is the word trust. It’s used to describe the experience we ought to share together. Here’s something interesting about this word.
Even though there are extensive references to trusting and believing throughout the Word, I couldn't find one where we are encouraged to let another believer be the object of our trust. We are told to love each other, pray for each other, bear each other's burdens, forgive each other, serve each other, stimulate each other to love and good deeds, be kind to one another and many other such things, but we are never told to trust one another. All references to trust and belief are firmly and exclusively directed to God. If he is the one in which all of our trust is invested, what do we have left over to give to another believer?
Our attempts to make other believers, or worse yet a church institution, the object of our trust is to place it in the role that has been reserved for the Father alone. That sounds dangerous, doesn't it? God has invited us to something so much better.
From the dawn of creation to Jesus' death on the cross, the Father's plan has always been to invite us into the fullness of relationship that he shares with himself. Since before time The Father, Son and Spirit have shared absolute joy, love, life, glory, power and wisdom without any thought of one being exalted over the other. God is a community and wherever he manifests his presence he builds community.
Almost without trying the Father's love in us will spill out causing us to "one another" believers with love, prayer, forgiveness, insight, money, help and anything else others might need that we have.
Only out of that fullness and our trust in God to fill our own needs will we be able to share without any expectation for others to respond, or any desire to manipulate their response. This is the essence of fellowship and believers freely loving each other, assisting however we can.
A question that I have had to really wrestle with in my relationships was: Am I trying to trust them and are they demanding trust? If so, I have discovered you will get hurt, because we will fail each other.
If you have been hurt like this, let the Father bring healing to your life. Your hurt, only testifies to your misplaced trust and holding onto it will hold you back from finding a freedom to experience the life of God and share it with others.
So what do our relationships with others look like? I don't want you to trust me any more. I want to help you trust the Father like you never have before. If you're doing the same thing with me then we're sharing fellowship in trusting the only one to whom trust is due. If I am and you're not, then I get to minister to you, which is a joy and what it means to live loved.
No comments:
Post a Comment