Weekly Theme September 29 through October 5

Healthy Relationships

 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
-Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12

In order to function in a healthy manner in our Christian development we need connection and healthy relationships with other Christians.  God has created us to be in relationship with him but he has also created us to be in relationship with other people. Within the church we have a need for significant relationships with other believers.  We need the support system that a network of relationships will provide for our faith development.

Many times people do not think that they need the church in order to be a fully functioning disciple of Jesus.  That is a mistaken understanding of what it means to be a Christian.  If we follow Jesus we are called into community and the community we are called into is the church.  In the church we can relate to fellow believers and they help to strengthen us as we grow in our faith.  Our relationships with other people in the church help to hold us accountable to take the steps we need to grow in our faith.

Socially isolated Christians meaning Christians with no developing relationships with other Christians, are not healthy.  We need a spiritual family. A part of a being in a family is to 
develop and nurture relationships with people in that spiritual family.