Genesis 2:18 NIV “The Lord God said:”
I am eight week’s post knee replacement surgery and each day I find myself feeling stronger and more positive about my fitness. I thank God for my improvement but I also credit others. People have prayed for me and therapists, who have been constantly monitoring my progress, have adapted my physio and pushed me. There is also another group of people who have helped. I have interacted with them for several hours a week; my Knee Class. All participants have had the same surgery and have experienced life before it, and life after it. We developed a relationship.
Our passage identifies how relationships add to our well being. God noticed Adam needed something and initially presented helpers who turned out to be unable to meet the need God placed in us; the need for relationship. God knew that life would be better and easier if we had someone like us to do life with. In Genesis, God suggests that we desire human companionship because of what we have in common. We experience life with similar responses and reactions as other humans. We are all blessed according to God’s will and none are exempt from struggles. The way we face the good and bad of life can bring us together especially if we lived it under similar circumstances and environments.
I bonded with my classmates because of what we have in common. We did not know each other before surgery but we recognized what we could offer each other. During the class,we exercise and talk. We talk about our struggles and pains. We hear how others have had the same struggles and survived. By week three, not only did we talk about our knees we talked about our families, our jobs and in some cases our beliefs. Some have gotten together after class to have coffee while others have visited each other’s home. Our common bond opened the door to a relationship just as God anticipated.
Military life is what holds the MCF together and it can open doors to others in the military community. If we can recognize what we have in common with the military community we will be able to recognize the opportunities to create relationships. Eve was not created to make Adam’s life easier. She was created to help him fulfil his purpose, which included Adam helping Eve fulfil hers. Our purpose is to worship God. Our mission is to take the gospel to the military, both the saved and the lost. This is a community who experience life in a way we understand. We need to help them find their purpose and to do that, we need to get closer. There are so many ways to initiate and maintain contact with at least one member, couple, or family in our community. It can start with a simple hello, a conversation about nothing special, or an invite to share a beverage together. Leave the Christian talk and bible at home and let God direct your relationship.
Just like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are meant to be in a relationship with others. Our common military interests pave the path to a possible long-term,mutually beneficial relationship where God can be revealed. Call someone today and start the connection you were created to make.