Genesis 2

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18

Today in church we talked about Genesis, Chapter 2...about how we're not only created to be in relationship with God, but how important it is to have relationship and community with one another.

I went to Quest this Sunday instead of where I've been attending for the past 5 years tonight and I must say, I did enjoy tonight's sermon. "It's okay to be lonely." I've never thought that it was okay to have this longing to be known by someone else. I always thought it was a failure on my part that there wasn't and hasn't been someone who knows all my intimate thoughts on this planet. It's okay to have that longing. It's okay to desire that kind of community.

It doesn't mean that this type of relationship or that being known comes in the form of dating a particular person or getting married. Certainly, those types of relationships can, but Community Groups and friends are there too. It's just difficult sometimes to see that. A lot of us think that if I was only dating that feeling would go away...or if I was married that the feeling would go away. I know that I've thought that before. I am content being single, but that doesn't mean I don't long for someone or a group of close friends to know me. I always thought that the longing I had was for the other half...the half that would be with me til death do us part. But now I realize that while that may be part of the longing...it's more of a longing in general to be known and to know someone else and to love them unconditionally.

What a challenge then...to love someone unconditionally and to let someone love you just as you are. Yes, we have flaws and we should work on them to become better people, but people make mistakes. We do things that hurt other people or we get hurt by other people. It's hard to love when that happens. It's hard to want the best for someone when we're hurting and in pain. It's always easy to love when there's no cost to ourselves. It's a new challenge...to love others even when it's not "convenient" or easy. Donating money to a cause verses giving my time and hands to a cause. That costs something. I have to sacrifice. What am I willing to sacrifice? Who will I love and what will I do to show them...even if I get hurt.