Relationships are Fundamental

I've recently picked up Leonard Sweet's book, "Out of the Question"... Into the Mystery." The premise of the book is that true meaning comes not from answering questions about God, but in living in the mystery of our relationship with Him. I'm captured by the following sentence: "What's important is not things themselves, but relationships between things. In fact, nothing is ever one thing or another, but rather a relationship between things."

This means that nothing in life has meaning in and of itself. The meaning of a thing is defined by its relationship to others. It's long been known that our self worth or value is formed and defined as we interact with others. How many are in counseling today because a parent or teacher or spouse ill-defined who we are! A baby without human interaction starves an emotional death. This computer I am typing on is of no value until I turn it on and interact with it, and give it the name "computer." Or the classic question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?" Well, who cares? Until a human being interacts with that fallen tree (grinds it up it for fertilizer, builds a home, etc.), it is meaningless whether or not it makes a sound.

This leads me to what seems like a heretical statement at first. Even God has no value wihtout relationship. What value is God if he's out there with no universe to rule, no human beings to shape, no creation to nurture? So he's out there all alone with no influence. What does that matter? If you don't believe that God's value is found in His relationships, we have only to think about the Trinity. In the infinite existence of God, He has been always in relationship with Himself (Father, Son, and Spirit). And He deepened the meaning of His own existence when he created us and entered into relationship with us.

This explains why God says the greatest commandment is to love God and love others. Or why Micah says that our fundamental purpose is to "do justice [live fairly and with dignity in relationships with other], love mercy [extend grace when injustice occurs], and walk humbly with your God [allow your value to be defined by your interconnectedness with God]." These are all relational activities.

This is why coming to church or experiencing a worship service or attending a class are meaningless rituals in and of themselves. They are just "things" until they become tools for connecting us in deep communion with our Creator. No wonder God "hates" our sacrifices when there is no heart in them.

"God, help me to connect with you deeply today. Not just to write about my relationship with You, but to enter deeply into it. Amen."