Relationships-The Only Thing God is Up To.

“Relationships are not one thing God is up to; they are the only thing God is up to.”

The first time I heard that statement, I had to chew on it before I understood it. Twenty years later, I agree with it more than ever and believe it to be Biblically sound & vitally important.

From the beginning of creation, one thing is evident, everything God made was GOOD. Everything He created was good because He is good. As we study Genesis, we see on day 6, God forms His crown creation, making man in the image of His triune nature—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:26 (ESV) says, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

Because God’s very nature has an internal relationship, He created us as His image-bearers to engage in relationships that glorify Him. In Genesis 2:18, God declares that something is not good for the first time. “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (ESV)

Out of the overflow of God’s relationship and unity with the Son and the Holy Spirit, He created us in His very image, designing humans to be in relationships with other humans. The God of perfect love and perfect relationship bestows upon us the honor of mirroring His goodness to all His creation–through our earthly relationships.

Since God is in Himself a relationship, what could be more critical for His image-bearers than for us to be in good relationships? But relationships are complicated–with God and with others! In Genesis 3, we learn that sin has consequences in all our relationships. Throughout Scripture, we see the story of broken relationships in need of healing. Shame, blame, distrust, hiding, and fear are a few of the side effects of these broken fellowships.

But, scripture characters aren’t the only ones with challenging relationships; relationships are hard for all of us. We long to know and be known, to have deep intimacy with a spouse, best friend, children, parents, and siblings, yet the investment may seem too costly. We get betrayed, disappointed, and heartbroken. Relationships change and even die. Yet, God calls us into relationships–not for ourselves, but for others. Not for the grandeur and perfection of it, but for the love of it.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NLT) says, “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

Jesus came to reconcile our wrecked relationships, and as image-bearers of the Lord God, He calls us to do the same. Over this past COVID year, we’ve realized the intensity of aloneness. Isolation kills our spirits, causes depression and anxiety, and makes people feel like giving up and sometimes–even dying. Relationships do matter. Yes, they will cost you time, pride, convenience, and more, but isn’t that what our Father modeled for us?

For God so loved the world that He gave. What did He give? He gave Jesus. He gave love. He gave us an opportunity for an intimate relationship with Him. Let’s make this a year where we intentionally invest in and allow others to invest in us because relationships matter.