I saw something this morning that really touched me. As I have taken personal inventory of the relationships in my life, I see they all equal one thing—relationship with God. I had a picture of the Lord’s hand and it was reaching out to touch me. And when I looked at the hand I saw different people I am in relationship with as the extension of His hand. Each of these people in my life offer me different things. No one relationship is the same, each connection is unique in what they offer. But not one of them is my single source of focus. So then where is my focus? Christ!
This is such amazing news. Jesus uses many people in my life to touch me on different levels. And because I am not fixated on any one relationship to meet all my needs, I am am able to be affixed to Christ not man. Now hear me, it is not that I am not totally involved with the individuals I am in relationship with when I am with them. I love attuning to people. I am learning that quality time and attunement ministers so deeply to the spirit and soul of a man. But I don’t have to be enmeshed to be attuned.
One Relationship in Many Relationships
I am looking to the Lord to be my one relationship and allowing Him to use who or whatever He wants to connect with me. This allows me to be free of constricting expectations. I don’t have to demand for one person to meet all my needs, rather I look to the Lord of my needs, to satisfy them as He chooses.
It is like Michelangelo’s creation of man. The connection is with God and He uses His universe to communicate His deep affection and love for us. In that Sistine Chapel mural the focus is the touch of man by the God who created him. Believe me, He is always pursuing this touch with us.
So as I enjoy the relationships I am building in my life, I am letting the Lord be the Source of them all. Because no one man is the center, I am not demanding from anyone that they meet my every need. And in the same way, because I am not singly focused on one relationship to be my all, I am not as susceptible to the demands of others to be source.
This is total liberation. It is honoring of self and centered on Christ. What a joy to experience the Lord’s affections as He wishes to deliver them. He uses my world to touch me because this world is His. My Christ-centered focus frees Him to use others to touch my life. Being centered on Christ as Source relieves the burden of painful expectations on others. They are able to be who Christ wants them to be, because I am not demanding more from them than they have to offer.
Hand of God
In the past I have looked at relationships as if my God was miserly. I felt the need to extract from them as much as I could as quick as I could, because surely God was about to remove them. This is so unfair to God and man. As I have leaned into view all relationships as a gift of His presence, I have been allowed to celebrate His love and heart through them. There wasn’t the demand of supply, because my Supplier was providing what He wanted to give. This is such liberty and freedom and gives me the opportunity to experience Christ in all, while enjoying His gift of friends.
