Written by: CampUs4
3/3/2010 2:23 PM

 Relationships: Beginning with God

by Steven Tramel Gaines

In my campus ministry role, the most tear-soaked conversations with college students have been about relationships.

We are relational beings. Friendship, dating, family, work, church, college—every area of life involves relationships.

In the Sunday morning Bible class I teach, we’re talking about relationships. Central to our discussion is how our faith can impact our interpersonal interactions. Christian spirituality is a way of life that can enrich every situation, every event, every conversation of our lives, not just Sunday morning worship gatherings and weekday Bible studies.

At the start of this discussion, we begin with God.

THE RELATIONAL GOD

God is relational. Our perception of God as the Trinity helps us understand this important belief. From the beginning, God has existed and acted in relationship. A few biblical passages make this clear.

The Bible’s first chapter tells us that God (the Father) created, while the Holy Spirit “was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2, ESV). The Fourth Gospel informs us that the Word also was present and active at the beginning as a member of the three-in-one God (John 1:1-3). In case we might have any question about the Word’s identity, the gospel writer tells us that the Word is Jesus Christ, the Son of God: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were co-present, co-eternal, and co-active in the creation of the world. Other passages, such as Matthew 28:19 and John 14:13-17, also mention the Father, Son, and Spirit together. God exists in perfect relationship.

BROKENNESS AND HEALING

Moving back to Genesis, we see that the relational God created relational people. It was “not good” for the first human to live alone, so God made another one, to live in relationship with the first one (Genesis 2:18-24). We also read that God created people to live in right relationship with the rest of creation (Genesis 2:8-17).

The next chapter introduces a crisis into the plot. The humans messed up the intended relational order. They misused the creation and disobeyed the Creator. The results continue to plague us today.

However, from that point forward, God has been active in restoring healthy relationships in this world. I’ve heard theologians refer to this in different ways—“reversing the curse,” “healing the brokenness,” “redemption.”

OUR PARTICIPATION

But God is not doing this alone. God is a relational healer and has invited us to participate in that redemptive work. Many centuries after Genesis, Paul wrote that God’s will is to heal (unite or redeem) relational brokenness (Ephesians 1:7-10). That early church leader also taught that God has given Jesus-followers the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). Reconciliation is the fixing of broken relationships, and our power in carrying out that mission comes from God, who is active in the work.

We also see in scripture that our relationships with God and our relationships with people impact each other. Jesus’ answer to the question about the greatest commandment indicates this connection (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34). The two greatest commands are to love God and to love people. Both deal with relationships. In Matthew’s account, Jesus said that all the rest of scripture (Law and Prophets) is dependent on those two commandments. In Mark, we see that living in that kind of relational harmony is essential to living in the kingdom of God.

“You shall love the Lord your God… You shall love your neighbor…” When my relationship with God hurts, my relationships with people also suffer. When my interpersonal relationships are less than what they should be, my relationship with God also is less than ideal. According to Jesus, if you are worshipping God and realize that you have a conflict with someone, you should seek healing in that interpersonal relationship before you continue worshipping (Matthew 5:23-24).

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

From these biblical insights, we can draw these four truths for Christians living in interpersonal relationships:

First, God is relational and created us as relational beings to live in relationship God and with each other.

Second, God is the source and sustainer of human relationships.

Third, God works in and through our relationships.

Fourth, our relationships with God and people impact each other.

DISCUSSION

Let’s have some discussion:

How can our faith in the relational God impact our interpersonal relationships?

How have you seen God work in and through human relationships?

If we believe that our relationships are vehicles for God’s work, what impact can that belief have on how we interact with people?

Steven Tramel Gaines lives with his lovely wife Tamara and their two crazy but cuddly cats in Spartanburg, SC, where he leads OASIS Campus Ministry, a multi-campus outreach supported by Central Church of Christ. He also serves as the associate editor of Campus Crosswalk. You may communicate with him via the contacts page of this web site. Check out his blog.

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