Connectedness

Author: Karen Lindwell-Bourg

Category: Uncategorized

What does the Bible say about being connected?

A Word of the Year

My business coach and her VIP group encourages everyone to choose and be led by a “word of the year”. The first year my word was Believe because I knew that everything I did as an entrepreneur should be solely influenced by the beliefs and values I held as a Christian. The second year my word was Led because I wanted to be sure that everything I did as I grew in ministry to others was led foremost by the Lord and Biblical precepts and principles.

Connect

This year I chose the word Connect. Honestly, it started out as a joke; for although I am comfortable in front of groups and am around people more often than I am alone, I have had to admit that I am an introvert and reaching out and connecting with others is sometimes agonizing for me. Don’t get me wrong, when a true connection is made and I see God’s Hand in this, my heart soars with the realization that these connections are divine appointments and blessings from the Lord!

The joke: I told our networking group that I chose the word Connect to encourage myself to put aside my intimidation and just pick up the phone and reconnect with (reach out and touch) past, present, and potential clients in our counseling office and networking group! I made a commitment to call 21 people every week.  It is now mid-March and I have yet to reach that goal a single week!

A Biblical Perspective

What does God teach us about the importance of connectedness? I wonder if understanding this will lead me to relax a bit about trying to connect and reconnect with others and give me a new boldness to serve Him.

The Bible is a book of connections. It shows us what our relationship to God is meant to be and how we should interact and treat others.

Relationship with God

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20

First, the most important connection is our relationship with God.  We are to love the Lord and our first responsibility is to Him.  Putting The Lord first in our lives is the most important decision we can ever make. (Deuteronomy 6:5, 13:3, 30:6; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27)  Our relationship with God is The Foundation for all other connections!

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Matthew 7:24-27

Relationships with Others

Second we are connected to others! As I worked through my counseling degrees I heard over and over “you are never not communicating” and so I realize with these verses that “we are never not connected!”

We may be connected poorly- even harmfully, but the connections we have as human beings and the body of Christ with other members do exist. We are commanded to “love our neighbor. Paul tells us in Romans 13 that we can be sure we are treating others the way God would have us treat them if we simply follow His Commandments and are motivated by a love given us by Him for our neighbor.

As a Biblical Counselor, a common thread in every counseling setting is connectedness. Everyone desires to be in harmonious relationships, no one wants to be alone, and every conversation in our office is about relationship. Another common thread in every counseling setting is grief. Individuals come to us expressing grief and sorrow that their relationships are not as they know they should be.

The best place to start is by replacing the shifting sands of our “house” with a rock foundation that can withstand the tempestuous storms of life, beginning with our relationship with the Rock – our Lord so that we…

…will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  

Marriage.  God instituted the union of marriage that the two should become “one flesh” and not separate. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4 to 6; Ephesians 5:31.) The marriage bond was designed by God to be permanent and yet that connection is often far from what God intended.

Believers.  Our family of believers should build each other up in the faith, should be trusted for wise counsel, and should be comprised of special relationships with incredibly unique connections. John 13 tells us we should love one another as Christ loved us and “…by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (John 13:34-35; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Peter 1:22.) The believer now has a special connection with other believers because of his relationship with God and the love of God binds them together in a way nothing else can. Christians are to encourage one another and support one another. We are to be quick to forgive and others should see something different and wonderful about the way we treat each other.

Lost.  We are to reach out to the lost. We are to be lights in a darkened world showing people the way to the Savior. (Matthew 28:19-20; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11; Matthew 18:14; Luke 19:10; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4; Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:14-16.)

Conclusion

What am I afraid of?  Am I concerned about my reputation, my time, and my needs first?

I want to put Christ first in my life and love Him more than all others. I want my relationships with my husband, children and grandchildren, fellow entrepreneurs and ministers, and extended family to be of such high-quality because of the preeminence of our relationship with God.

I want to reach out and touch others whom He has called me to with His reputation and their needs in mind foremost.

“Only when Jesus is our priority can we be assured that our other relationships are based on a firm and connected foundation!”

-Robert Driskell

Posted on May 20, 2015