We are connected to each other whether we like it or not. So even those messy relationships are often a necessary part of our life. Broken relationships are a reflection of sin. Whereas the healthy relationships are a witness to solidarity. Real relationships are people living and working together, genuinely caring for the good of each other.
“Am I my brothers keeper?” ~ Genesis 4:9
Yes. We are responsible for each other. We are made to cross paths with certain people throughout our lives. It is not mere coincidence, but the perfect will of God aligning different people at different stages of life and at different levels of faith in order for them to succeed. The real reason for relationships is leadership.
Siblings lead each other. Spouses lead each other. Parents lead their children. Teachers are leaders. Coworkers lead each other. Friendship is essentially leadership too. All of these different relationships all exist for the simple purpose of leadership, one person leading another and vice versa, not seeking anything in return, but only the good of the other.
We challenge each other. We hold each other accountable. We set the example for the other. Relationships are what we are, after all, we are made in the image and likeness of God who is in essence a relationship, an eternal embrace of the Father and the Son, personified in the Holy Spirit. The Blessed Trinity, the fact that God is a relationship, speaks powerfully to the point that we too are made for relationship.
Question: What relationships in your life do you value the most? Do you see these as opportunities to lead and be led, to love and be loved?
Photo by Stephen Eastop