relationships continued

Hi Everyone!

So, we've been talking about relationships. We've talked about marriage and about close family and friends. This week, we're turning our attention to relationships with those outside that circle of closeness.

These are the dicussion questions that we are going to put out to everyone at this Sunday's Service. Take a look. Think about them. Find some scripture. Think up some thoughts and bring them with you on Sunday.

Enjoy!

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As Christians, what is our responsibility to "strangers" or people not within our close circle?

Should we be focusing more on in our own circle because we have more influence in their lives? Is it our responsibility to help everyone? What does that mean?

How does this relate to the idea of "Christian service"? What is the Biblical reason for this? Why would God wan us to spend time doing this?

What kind of relationships are we expected/supposed to build? Are we trying to "save" people who aren't able to themselves? Are we trying to be friends and invite them into our lives?

define "a personal relationship"

So this past Sunday our gathering focussed on exploring the meaning of a "personal relationship." My banker, for example, knows me by name and would cash a cheque for me without needing any ID -- we have a personal relationship. On a much deeper level, I have personal relationships with family and friends -- we share a connection, be it by blood or shared history or both. And my closest personal relationship is the one I have with my spouse -- one life, one soul.

But for some people, the closest personal relationship they might experience could be with a complete stranger on the bus to whom they pour out their life story. Or a beer-drinking buddy. Or a one-night stand.

It seems to me that many Christians toss around the concept of "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" as if that explained everything. It's so much a part of the church lexicon that it's unquestioned, unexamined, yet treated as the most basic of tenets. If asked "Do you have a personal relationship with your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?" (and which of us hasn't been thus confronted, Christian or not?), most Christians would presumably answer "Yes, of course." And that "yes" seems to satisfy most people who have asked me that question. But what does that personal relationship really mean?

Is Christ like my banker, whom I see only when I need or want something? Is it someone I say hi to on Sunday, but otherwise forget about during the week? Is he my closest friend, even if he does drive me nuts because he's always, always right?

How you see personal relationships... your ability, or inability, to truly grow them, nurture them, participate in them fully with other human beings... can have a profound effect on how you see any personal relationship with Christ.

So some questions to ask yourself: How good are your human personal relationships? With whom do you feel you have the deepest human personal relationship? And which of your human personal relationships most closely matches your personal relationship with Jesus Christ?