Created to be Related

I believe we were created to be related. How do I know? Because God said in the beginning, “It is not good for humans to be alone.” (Gen. 2:18) God intended for us to live in groups or community. We were brought into existence for relationships and fellowship.

But not all groups are caring and serve one another. The composition teacher asked the 4th grade class to write about an unusual event that happened during the past week. Little Johnny got up and read his essay. It began, “Daddy fell into the well last week...” Oh, my!” the teacher exclaimed. “Is he all right?” “He must be,” said the boy. “He stopped yelling for help yesterday.” Johnny and his family, even though they were a small group, were not very responsive to Dad’s cries for help. We are surrounded in the church, in the workplace and in our community with people in need, crying out for help. Sometimes the cries stop and we assume they’re now all right. The truth may be that they have grown weary of seeing their appeals unanswered. Their cries for help have gone unheeded and we no longer hear them at all! Why did God create us needing each other? I believe He created us to be related. I believe He intended for us to encourage each other and support each other.

Since the pandemic, we have discovered that we need each other in ways that we never dreamed of and this need for fellowship is best provided in community or small groups. In my study of the Bible, I have discovered an abundance of Scripture pointing to need for “one another.” Notice some of these “one another” passages in the Bible.

- “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10)

- “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low

position. Do not be conceited.” (Romans 12:16)

- “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7)

- “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

(Ephesians 4:32)

- ”You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;

rather, serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

- “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

- “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thes. 5:11)

- “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any

stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” (Romans 14:13)

- “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by

sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:13)

- “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be

compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8)

- “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By

this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13: 34, 35)

After an accident in which she lost her arm, a girl named Jamie refused to go to school or church for an entire year. Finally the young teen thought she could face her peers. In preparation, her mother called her Sunday school teacher and asked that he not call attention to Jamie. The teacher promised, but when he got sick on Sunday and had to call a substitute, he forgot to tell the second teacher. At the conclusion of the lesson that day, which was about inviting friends to church, the substitute led the class in doing the hand motions to the familiar children’s poem: Here’s the church, Here’s the steeple, Open the door, See all the people!

Jamie’s eyes filled with tears. A 13-year-old boy realized how she must be feeling. He knelt beside her. And with one hand apiece, they supported each other, making the church, steeple, and the people. Together they illustrated what the real church is—a community of people encouraging each other.

I believe we were all created to be related. So,… Whose hand are we holding? Whose hand are we making up for? Who are we encouraging?

Retired Pastor Jim Nichols

Sidney Seventh-day Adventist Church