This is a tricky one. The human heart longs to be owned; but there is a difference between this ownership and that of imprisonment. It is a belonging. Even in the marriage covenant where a man and woman can say they “belong” to each other, it is not in the sense of being each other's property.
God alone can claim the right of ownership. He alone can authentically dedicate himself to developing us in ways that harmonize with how he has made us as individuals with our own story. Yes, his objective is for his glory; but his glory in a believer's life is seen in an ultimate outcome which will also be for our own good. Each of us will be a unique and delightful, sin free, reflection of Jesus Christ. This is why personal, immanent friendship can be attributed to the sovereign, transcendent God. Of all our friends, he is the one who qualifies as the friend who sticks closer than a brother.
True friendships launch. Whether deep friendships for life or only for a certain period of time, God’s objective is for each friend to move the other forward in their walk with Him. Brotherly love, therefore, will not maneuver a friend into dependency or codependency.
Churches as well as individuals must tread this path carefully or making disciples will become a matter of organizational control and advancement rather than individual growth in grace.
Parents, also, must be careful. Fondness of being needed by their child can keep him or her bound to the nest to satisfy the "love language" of Dad and Mom.
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