113.WE NEED CONNECTEDNESS. Genesis 2:18.

At Creation, God looked at all He had done and said, “That’s Good” Then there came a time when He realised man was lonely, unfulfilled and incomplete. Next we read in (Genesis 2:18) “He said ‘It is not good for the man to be alone’ And He made Eve the first woman”. None of us can develop to our fullest potential unless we are plugged into nurturing, ie Life-giving relationships. Here is an example; In “The 12 step-recovery programme” the counsellor only does 10 per cent of the work by offering guidance. 90 per cent of the recovery process takes place because the people in the group, challenge, comfort and strengthen one another. We are shaped by people! The right people help you to become the best person of yourself that you can be, and you do the same for them. They see the YOU that you can’t see at times, they cheer you on as you move forward, and they “get in your face” when you falter. The highest form of this relationship is referred to in Scripture as ‘The fellowship of the Spirit’ It’s not just a social, relational or intellectual connection, but a deep spiritual link that causes us to thrive,. It’s like the difference between bees and butterflies. Butterflies cover more territory, but Bees gather more honey. Why? Because they don’t just land on a flower briefly, they stay there and extract the life-giving nectar, In Bible times, God gave David the gift of a Jonathan, and Naomi the gift of a Ruth. Paul had Timothy And God has people He would like you and me to meet as well. We need to talk to Him today about that. It’s important. When you read the story of the New Testament Church, you can easily get caught up in their explosive growth and amazing miracles, but there is a component you shouldn’t miss; In (Acts 4:32-35) we read, “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had...There were no needy persons among them...Those who owned land or houses sold it. And it was distributed to anyone who had need,” We say “If I just had a bit more money we’d be happy.” Well, we might feel more secure and have fewer worries, but we wouldn’t necessarily be happy. In ‘The journal of Happiness Studies’ a researcher looked at what distinguished quite happy people from less happy people. One factor consistently separated those two groups. It’s not about how much money you have; It’s not about your Health, security, attractiveness or I.Q. or your career success. What distinguished consistently happy people was the presence of rich, deep Joy-producing, life-changing, Meaningful relationships. Social researcher Robert Putman writes: “The single most common finding from a half century’s research on life satisfaction around the world is best predicated by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections. “You might like to read that last sentence again.” You See, you can know a lot of people but not really be known by them, and still be lonely. The people in the New Testament Church got it right; It’s in sharing with one another spiritually, emotionally, financially and relationally that you receive your highest level of joy. Of course, this will not happen overnight, it will take time, effort and lots of prayer: But, when God blesses these relationships it really is a wonderful blessing. Paul writes in:- (Romans 12:3-8) “Just as there are many parts in our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it and it takes everyone of us to make it complete .So we belong to each other, and like it or not, each of us need all the others. Like the body, God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, then prophesy whenever you can – as often as your Faith is strong enough to receive a message from God. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If you are a preacher, see to it that your sermons are strong and helpful. If God has given you money, be generous by helping others with it. If God has given you administrative ability and put you in charge of the work of others, take your responsibility seriously. Those who offer comfort to the sorrowing should do it with a caring heart. Unhappiness can often begin with the absence of connection. It’s not by having a mobile phone with lots of numbers on it; It’s in sharing your life with those who live for causes greater than themselves. “Where and how should I start?” I hear you say, By visiting a lonely, forgotten person in a nursing home. By volunteering to work in a food bank one or two days a week. By saying to your Pastor “Please give me a job that involves helping others. These are small jobs, but you’ll be surprised how they enrich your life, and the doors that will be opened to you as your faithfulness, your dependability and trust is made clear to others. People will want to follow you when they see the results of your gift of love. That’s how people like Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa, Brother Francis,Vincent de Paul and many, many others started out. Just by one person who was prepared to do God’s Will in little things and wait patiently for Him to lift them up, and even if you don’t get to the lofty highs of some of them, you will know that whatever happens in this life you have lived it in the Will and purposes of God. And that will be enough. Thank you for reading this word on getting and remaining connected. God has only one body and we are it, so stay connected and bring others to join us in “The Body of Christ.” God bless Phaline. ---------------------------