12/12/2024
What if God is not enough? May sound crazy for a Christian to propose that question, especially a Chrisitan in a leadership role. Growing up in church and being in church circles all of my life, I’ve heard some people say, or imply, that God should be all someone needs. Some Christians even feel guilty about being unhappy, or dissatisfied with life on some level, because of the belief that if they have God, that should be enough. But what if that’s not true? What if God never promised to be all that we need?
Think about it. In the garden within Eden, Adam was in perfect union with his Creator, walking and talking together in the garden. His surroundings were beautiful, untainted by pollution or decay. In this account in Genesis, God looks around at his creation and proclaims that each and every thing he made was good, with one exception. There was one situation that was incomplete, that was “not good”. God proclaimed that it’s not good that man should be alone.
So even when man had never sinned, was in perfect communion with God, where no sin had resulted in a barrier in man’s heart to receiving God’s love, God looked at this situation and said it wasn’t good for him to be alone. In other words, God himself proclaims that a relationship with him isn’t enough to meet all of a person’s relational needs. So, he made Eve.
God himself recognized that we need another human to commune with , that we need human companionship. For God had made man in his image. The triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, has been in communion with one another for all eternity. And God made us like him. As such, we need community.
Now, it’s important for us to keep in mind that there is a place in our heart and soul that no human relationship can fulfil- the God-shaped hole as someone called it. So, even the closest relationships with others won’t completely satisfy us. They will inevitably leave us wanting. For we were designed for a dependent, trusting relationship with God our Father, which will ultimately meet our deepest need for intimacy, love, and purpose. (And even that need won’t be completely met this side of heaven. But exploring that thought would necessitate another post. 😊) In other words, we were designed to receive God’s love and to love and worship him in return.
That being said, he never designed his relationship with us to meet all of our needs. I think this is reflected in the “greatest commandment(s)”. When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied that the greatest command is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is closely related, to love our neighbor as ourself. Our need for community is implicit within these commands. We, and our neighbor, need a deep abiding relationship with God, as well as, personal, human, face to face, relationships. You might recall all of the “one another” commandments in the New Testament: love one another; be devoted to one another; pray for one another, et cetera. Sounds like we might need one another.
So, don’t be hard on yourself for not being fully satisfied with just you and God. Maybe, if you were fully satisfied with just the two of you, something is wrong.
Shouldn’t God’s love lead us to loving others? To relationship.
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