Very rarely, if ever do we really seriously consider the attachments & relationships that we encounter throughout all our days. This means the most significant attachments as well as the least significant, which we call, acquaintances. Normally, we think of these attachments & relationships to arise out of thin air — a pure happenstance or luck even. Never do we realize how organic they are; that they occur mainly because we have shared & common interests; shared & common ideas; the same & common mindset concerning life. These attachments & relationships are important, we know that, and yet our experiences are filled with poor to even really bad relationships — why? Is it because we do not think through well enough? Or is it more simply the result of our DNA that links to bad & terrible people in our life that cause us harm? Or maybe its even simpler than that really — we assume a lot of relationships as being organic. This means we assume a lot about the other person, as if, they are organically like us in some real way. But they are not.
There is a saying — “opposites attract” — why is this true of our human experience? Because we know in some sense there is an in-organic way attachments & relationships arise. In some meaningful way, attachments & relationships do not occur out of thin air but are worked out gradually over time such that in that real time & space we come to realize how organic two people have gotten together for so long. But that doesn’t answer the corollary — why do we yet experience terrible relationships & terrible people in our life that care not for our well-being & livelihood? Certainly, we do not walk around looking for terrible people that do us harm; nor do we wake up every morning in search of relationships with such people. We assume that whomever we engage with that the other person shares the same thought, mind, & attitude. And the sad reality is that sometimes they do not, and when we realize that, oftentimes, it is almost too late to escape from the hurt that will arise.
Thus, attachments & relationships do matter & they matter a lot — so much so, that it should be mind-boggling to all of us why we do not pay closer attention to all the people we meet & engage with on a daily basis.
Consider all the necessities that human relationships require — they depend on three (3) most important & vital objects or else all relationships will fail — Security, Communication, & Affliction.
SECURITY
No matter the stability in our own lives, an insecure relationship will cause us tremendous heart-wrenching turmoil that will infect every area of our life. Thus to be safe & to feel safe is the paramount object in any relationship — we do not seek harm unless that other person causes that harm unto us & happens to us because we trust that person to care for our well-being as much as we do ourselves. Without this, there is no relationship.
Now consider, these following Bible passages about Kingship —
KING — Ezekiel 37:22 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
John 18:33-37 33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Is the only purpose of a king is to rule over the people? Or is one of the objects of a king as ruler is so that he becomes the very necessity by which all are safeguarded under his care? A watchful eye that never closes; a sleepless night that always hangs over him. To be a king & to be a successful one at that, is that by his rule he will make sure all are safely within his grasp at all times & the might he uses will dismay & destroy all enemies foreign & domestic.
Therefore, why do we need a king? Because there are objects in the spiritual realm & dangers that haunt us in the night & daytime sky that we cannot safely ensure our own well-being at all times. A king is necessitated for that simple welfare. But more than that really — there is a rule over us that we negate & despise; a rule that is as real as our own lives we wish to determine. That rule is the paramount object of both our downfall & destruction. Unless THIS is remedied in some way we are subject to that awesome terrible calamity to all enemies of the Kingdom of God.
2. COMMUNICATION
And not just any communication either — real & authentic communication. Communicaton that seeks more than mere conversation about whatever that is meaningless but seeks to strive at the right balance of healing & joyful exuberance. Communication that demeans & is sometimes purposeful in its hurtfulness, a relationship cannot long last because it will start to tear down the walls of trust & security. Anytime lies are proved from the mouth that display evidence of ingenuineness, that wall of security further erodes until all the manner of speaking & talking that sounds like communication are just nothing but sound & wind coming from the person that is no longer trusted.
Thus authentic & real communication furthers not only a bond of relationship but also more importantly builds up the wall of trust. So much so in fact, that once a lie is told once, it matters not how many truthful things that were spoken in the past because the mind will always gravitate to the one lie that was spoken. It is always important to speak the truth; it always important to speak our minds; but it more important to be genuine in how we speak because what we say & do have consequences to the other person listening to us. Furthermore, trust builds even more when we speak in a way that allows the other to feel welcomed & welcoming into the conversation. In this manner, communication must be both thoughtful & well-thought-out. Think before speaking; listening before talking; thinking before saying any comment.
Now consider, these following Bible passages about the Prophets —
PROPHET — Hebrews 1:1-2 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Hosea 12:10 10 I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables.
Why do we need a prophet? The simplistic answer is that we need someone to speak for God. Apparently, God did not speak for Himself to everyone in the Old Testament thus necessitating this role. But there is another aspect — speaking the truth about God. The main problem about this office of prophet is that almost anyone could claim to be a prophet. Thus they could lie & deceive about God — one would say one thing about God another person would claim just the opposite. How in the world would anyone know the truth about this God? How can truth be maintained at all? The prophets of God were given special qualities & special gifts that differentiates between the Old & New Testaments. Quite frankly, there was a certain mystery that the prophets of God contained that were not revealed until the Apostles in the New Testament. Thus their abilities must be understood as being both qualitatively different from the Apostles because they were both tasked with two different agendas.
Because the Holy Spirit did not come in force until the Pentecost, the words of the prophets were vital in speaking for God to the people — in a way, they were the physical representation of the Holy Spirit — they spoke the truth about God, spoke the conscience of God, spoke for the people to God, & mainly prayed over the people, for the people, & adjured the people into solemn repentance.
Why was this all necessary? Because they, the prophets of God understood from the Heart of God, that there existed a disconnect — a chasm of relationship that existed that God wished to be merged. A heart of God that sought out the remedy & wished to share that remedy by sharing how He will go about remedying the breach. If a probem exists in human relationships, what is the first thing we seek? A remedy through conversation. We want to talk about it until there is a resolution. How is this different than the way in which God wanted to remedy the problem with humans?
3. AFFLICTION
Take a moment & consider your most significant relationship. Think about how that relationship have survived & fostered through the years — time & distance travelled; money & cost well-spent. We took the time to make sure our most treasured relationships would thrive. Think about that. We took the time. This means we sacrificed long & hard about the relationship we want to make certain will survive; we took the necessary means out of our own welfare to make sure certain relationships would last forever. In fact, what we did is called Affliction — we shared a burden. We took on the necessary pain & turmoil of our most significant partners & put that on ourselves. And we didn’t want to do that with anybody — we are very selective about that. Only the most special ones take an aspect of ourselves so that we take on the personality of the one that means the most to us. And of course, that other someone does the same — we share in the affliction. Now, of course, we will not call it that — we have other names for it :
In the office, it’s called ‘responsibility’; in the home, it’s called ‘duty, anxieties, worry, stress, & burden’; if we are a student, it’s called ‘work or trials or test’ — but whatever we want to name it, it is all ‘AFFLICTION.’ It seems even in human relationships, God has made certain that our relationships cannot & will not thrive & survive without it.
Now consider, these following Bible passages about the Priests —
PRIEST — Malachi 4:4 4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
1 Peter 2:9 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Revelation 1:5-6 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Why do we need a priest? The Old Testament Priest had a function — a gory function of killing animals for the sole purpose of washing away personal & communal sins. The mere sight of all that blood-letting is to display the sheer volume of blood necessary for God’s redemption. And yet this was only a temporary procedure. God did not mean to enact this ritual for perpetuity — it was also to show that there will be One who take all that volume of blood upon Himself. In this way, the perfect sacrifice will take upon Himself the perfect affliction for all humankind who wishes to be cleansed. That was the demonstration — a perfect insitution of divine relationship.
You see, the priest did not just perform all these rights & rituals so that they could be holier than us or even to show how separate & segregated they were with the congregation of the people. Rather, especially in the garment of the High Priest, we find this illuminating fact — upon his shoulders & his chest are inscribed in stone all the names of the tribes of Israel — that upon him, the high priest, contained all the burdens & afflictions of all the people — that he carried with him & upon himself the wounds of this vast multitude & that his responsibility was to assume their redemption upon his person.
But was this all necessary? And the answer is yes it was because God required it. To remedy the breach that existed between humans & God, this was the remedy He instituted — it was a gory spectacle & one that promoted disdain — why this effusion of blood? But the blood of an animal is not the same as the blood of humans thus it could never be the perfect remedy only partially. Therefore, the person of Christ is chiefly represented here. When we think of sacrifice, we think of Him. But we do not think about the affliction that He Himself carried. In the same way as the high priests of Israel, Christ shouldered the burden upon Himself to the very point of death.
I am reminded in the story of the Cross, when Jesus was carrying the cross through the narrow corridors of the ‘Via Dolorosa’ that Christ crumbled to the ground carrying the weight of the cross — bearing that wooden beam upon Himself. And the sheer weight of it put Christ to the pavement — the human Jesus fell with that tremendous burden — yes, affliction, our affliction. It belonged to us yet here was this innocent man struggling to carry it — struggling to fight FOR it not to give it away to another person because He knew as surely as we didn’t, that it was necessary. Necessary for HIM? Necessary for us. Is that not what relationships are all about? When someone else sees & perceives our worries & thoughts & stresses about life & we wish not to share it with anyone — it is always our closest friend & companion that seems to know — that perceives our burden & wishes to share in that afflcition with us. How is this any different to what the Christ did on the cross? He knew our singular weakness & disdain & problem — He knew, as humans, we would continue to remain oblivious but He chose to remedy & rectify the breach; He chose to secure a relationship that many of us would not care to want in the first place. But thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Malachi 4:5 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet BEFORE the Great & Awesome DAY of the LORD COMES!
