Where’s all the Deep Connection Christ cares so much about?

“LOVE one another.” It was Christ’s final imperative that has ongoing effect. His command to all believers. Just as He loved His disciples, with perfection of unction, He said we should love each other.

Jesus wants us to love each other with such a passion that it transforms us from the inside out. And it would. If only we would do it. If we would only throw ourselves into our real-life relationships. And make of these the very substance of our lives, spurning those other things we spend all our time doing which ultimately are a waste.

Where we fall is in our indifference… our ambivalence… our guardedness.

We would prefer to look good, to feel stroked, to be comforted, to curate image.

All that ever matters is deep connection — with God, with others. That’s it. Finito.

If our church relationships lack passion it’s because they lack connection. If our evangelistic ventures fall short time and again it’s because our connection hasn’t met with their crisis and their need of the gospel. If deep bonds of connection are not felt it’s because we haven’t risked ourselves enough. If our growth in God is stifled it’s because we’ve decided to limit what God can do in us through our relationships.

And what is this deep connection I speak of? It’s reaching into the humanity we interact with and encountering it.

When courage melds with vulnerability we achieve connection.

When our desire to know another transcends our desire to be known we get connection.

When the other becomes central and we, ourselves, form the periphery, we have connection.

When they talk and we listen and we query with questions, there, in that dialogue, we have connection.

When all’s said and done

life is won through

loving each other

and God’s own Son.