Relationships

Relationships are the essence of life. If we can get them right - the rest falls into place. In this section we aim to look at the relationships that are important to us, the essential foundations of those relationships and insights into how to make them work.

We have included a 'stories' page so that you can see how the principles shared on this site work out in practice. If you think your experiences will be of help to others, send them in via the contact page. Feel free to send in any comments you have on any of the material or any questions you may have.

Questions

I am often asked a variety of questions. It occurs to me that others might benefit from the answers so I will start putting some of them up here. When the list grows I will start to categorise them. I plan to do the same for Bible topics under the Study section.

Q 1. Am I right in thinking I should be able to take things to God and feel resolved after that? I feel I should be able to get my security from Him, but that's hard when I find it difficult to hear what he's saying back.

'Now, let me say, I think each of us has a number of voids/needs/yearnings that if filled bring us life in a deeper richer more textured way. Each of us has a star shaped hole only a loving spouse can fill. A friend doesn’t fill it, a pet cannot and God will not. A round peg will not fit or fill it. If that hole/void/need/yearning remains unfilled we legitimately ache, severely at times and we bear the scar or grief that emptiness in our soul brings.

There’s a round hole only a father fills, a diamond shaped hole a mother fills… and there’s a God shaped void no spouse, child, success, amount of money or religion can touch… We’ve got a bunch of holes, voids and yearnings, and it’s critical that they be filled. But they’re not all filled all the time.

The God-hole is the mondo-bolardo of holes/needs/voids we have as humans. Our yearning/need for intimacy with God is crucial and though we try to fill it with all kinds of stuff… it’s only the One True God peg that fits.

To know God is to have life whether or not the other holes are filled. When the God-hole is filled we have all we need to worship, follow, live loving lives and taste heaven here and now no matter what our circumstances or hardships are. God alone is sufficient. He is enough.'

Ultimately our security is in the Lord but he has given us people to share with and he expresses himself through those people. Parents are meant to be the vehicle of God's love to the young lives he has entrusted to them. It is their hands and faces that express and make real to the child the care and provision of our heavenly Father. So it is with our Christian family. As we interact with those God has given us so we learn about ourselves, our own desires and impulses, and in so doing, we learn to distinguish between those impulses and the impulses of the Spirit of God.