Relationship and Fellowship
Everyday reminds us anew of the greatest reality of God’s life, that God is love. He does not look like or behave like but love is the totality of who He is. The scriptures teach that God loves unconditionally; he loves when we are in obedience to His word or voice and in valley of gross disobedience. When we believe him and when we’re disbelief, when we choose to honor Him and when we’re in dishonor. God’s love is unchanging. More than a woman’s tender love, it never ceases towards the child she bears. Like the Prodigal Father in Luke 15, God loves when we’re close-by and miles apart; when we receive a crown and we fall into deep pit of wrong doings. Even in that surging volcano he exhibits his love the more. Due to our limited knowledge of his love, mankind often wonders how God could love even when we failed him. They easily loose sight of the reason his only begotten son, Jesus Christ died for us.
By conception a woman become pregnant and gives birth at the right time. The child born has biological parents; becomes member of that family, bearing their last name. There’s a blood connection between the child and the parents. This blood connection is what determines the relationship. This relationship does not change even if another parent raises the child and the biological parents were not part of the child’s life, upbringing or development. Their relationship will not change for its blood determined. Thanks to DNA. What often changes is the fellowship. They may loose fellowship with one another, sometimes lost touch for a long time or may not talk with one another. This could be reconciled and panel-beated by mending ways and returning to each other.
People often confuse relationship with fellowship. Your relationship with your father and mother once established remains for life but fellowship fluctuates, depending on how involved the parents were in the life of their child. 1 John 1:9 says we can restore our fellowship by confessing our sins and God who is faithful and just will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness as well as restore us to him. We then regain our lost status – beloved child of God. The same happens when we become a child of God and God becomes our father; our relationship is established by the blood of Jesus and sealed in the Holy Spirit of God. . When we fall into sin our relationship does not terminate but our fellowship is stained because the God’s Spirit in us is grieved and hurt. Since the blood of Jesus Christ established our relationship with the father, He became the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Those who now become ‘sons’ of God live their lives through Him. This is the grace of God.
God loves and commands us to love Him and other human beings. God first loved us and gave us his only begotten son as a propitiation for our sins. These sins were the barriers that debarred God from having fellowship with mankind. We fall short of God’s glory each time we sin. The bulk of man’s sin is disobedience of God’s instructions, doubt of his sufficiency and seeking helps elsewhere. Little wonder God defines his love as obedience to his commandments. Since God is invisible, he instructs us to share His love with his visible creation especially other human beings. [1 John 4:11-12]. If we do these, our consciences justify us and we have the courage in his presence to present to him his promises and ask for fulfillment. God fulfills our request because we obey him and do what pleases him.
Another form of relationship is established in marriage – a union between a man and a woman. In Genesis 2:22f the first marriage was a union of a man and a woman who had existed in one body before their marriage and became one again after their marriage. The man acknowledged the bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.’ When two flesh and bones unite together it implies that the blood, veins and arteries as well as bones also unite. This is a blood connection. Verse 24 says, ‘therefore for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and they become one flesh, a couple, a unit [Matthew 19:5; 1 Corinthians 6:16; Eph.5:31-33]. They became one flesh, were naked but not ashamed. They were transparent, had open communication day and night and hid nothing from each other. They lived in one house, slept in same bed and maintained close touch with each other. They prayed together; did things in common and enjoyed mutual respect of one another.
They had disagreements but could resolve their differences before they went to bed or during the night. No matter the extent of disagreement their relationship as husband and wife remained secured. Their fellowship dwindled; disagreements or misunderstandings occur in a union of two imperfect persons who have independence minds and thoughts system. Generally men are physical while women are emotional. Some differences in our spouses shall not go away; they were built in from their childhood and depend on upbringing as well as genetics. These misunderstandings help to unveil the secret of the minds and hearts – that’s deceitful above all things. These wrongs occur because of carry-overs from families of origin; inability to adapt to changes and selfishness that leaves no room for compromise. Divorce has become a way out of marriage troubles. However, Jesus restated it is a life long union, only to be parted by death. But today it’s a partnership with exit plans from the beginning. No thanks to Satan and its worldliness.
The greatest problems facing relationship in marriage is the submission to God’s authority. I just wish we could trust God even when our little minds think He is in error. He created mankind; designed and established the institution of marriage. Even before creation, God had a plan for His creation including marriage institution and the Church. Many Christians believe that God is perfect in all his way but have problem in simply obeying his commands. They lift up holy hands in worship; dip God’s promises but skip his commands. They don’t have problem shifting God’s boundaries and can justify their behaviors rationally. Already some people suggest that we address God as she because God is Spirit and has no gender but is it biblical? We love changes and the devil exploits us in this area. But the foundation of God stands firm; no legions of demon can pull it down. God in his wisdom made a woman the mother of the earth, a neck without which the head cannot turn, but a man the head of a home. When God’s boundaries are shifted there are repercussions and consequences. The same is in relationship and unions.
Thank God for His unconditional love. He upholds the relationship and allows us the freedom to rise and fall; come to our senses, mend our ways and return to Him. For this reason we confess our wrongs daily and renew our fellowship with Him and one another. Our Savior redeems us, transforms us and renews us as well as restores us. We return to active worship and dutiful witnessing the goodness of God’s love and grace.
Evangelist Ogbonnaya, G. can be reached by email: gkapin53@yahoo.com