God said it wasn't good for humans to be by themselves.
Jesus told his followers, "They'll distinguish you all from other people by the way you love each other."
I know.
We might not be as qualified as we thought as it relates to being followers of Jesus. God, in the "Beginning" story, seems to highlight that there lies within "humans" a space designed for relationships. In theory, we're always attempting to fill that space.
But while we fill that space, we must ensure that we are, in fact, filling it with something and someone tangible and full of the kind of vitality we need.
It's like plants.
Plants need us, and we need plants.
They give off what we need, while we respond with what they need.
In the "Beginning" story, God creates plants before people to create an atmosphere humans could live in. I believe in that same way, that God has relationships that He has designed for us to thrive in. There are people that I need who also need me, and I must be open to God's leading not just in my vertical relationships, but also in my horizontal ones. When I exclude God from this rather important subject, I end up with people who don't offer me what I need, neither do I offer them what they need.
Those relationships work okay in a "work environment" because the ultimate desire is to produce something rather than produce the kind of air I need to "breathe".
But when we exclude God from this process, we end up with relationships that don't create oxygen, and without that, those relationships are silk tulips instead of real ones.
Silk tulips brighten up an office space, or warm up the emotion of a living room, but they don't help you breathe. Silk tulips set off an atrium or soften up a lounge area, but they don't help you breathe.
It's absolutely essential that we are in relationships that enable us to breathe rather than brighten up our aesthetics. Divorce is on the all time high because our dominant culture values silk tulips over green dirty plants that take time and effort to water and nurse.
As a follower of Jesus, I want to make sure that I'm involved in relationships with people that are green, may get dirty, take time to water and nurse, but eventually provide a space for me to "breathe".
Are you choking?
Feel like you're constantly gasping in your life and can't catch your breath?
It might be the people you're missing!
So pause long enough to see who God is bringing around you. This isn't hard; it just requires some patience. Now having patience, that's hard! But pause as you experience your life around people, and look for those who enable you to breathe. When people come around you, ask yourself the question, "does the air get cleaner or more toxic when I'm around them?"
I encourage you to take this challenge, and breathe a little better! You'll be surprised at who God has destined for the living room of your life. They may be following Jesus and they may not be, but be sensitive towards your air quality.
Silk tulips are nice, but in the paraphrase of Jesus, "What does it profit you to gain a living room full of silk tulips, and still keep gasping for air?"
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