The Christian Relationship...

“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and He who loves is born of God and knows God.”—1 John 4:7

We know the Christian life as participation in the life of Christ, and the Christian fellowship as the relationship of men who have been reunited to one another by the presence in them of the Spirit of Christ. We need to make this concept even more specific by asking these question: “How does one participate in the life of Christ? How does one find the Spirit? What must one do?” The gospel’s answer is: “You shall love.” It has surpassing attraction, but is also considerably disappointing. Love is appealing, but its practice is appallingly difficult. While the Christian relationship seems to promise a difference, it is hard to identify. What makes the difference?

 The difference is the Gift of God that is found in the Relationship with Christ. Christians believe that the gift of God in Christ confers something that man needs but has lost. What is it that we do not have that we are supposed to receive as a result of our new relationship with Christ? That which by nature we cannot have is the freedom to love. We believe that God is love. Creation is the work of His love, and love is the Nature of His relationship with the Son and the Holy Spirit. But the ambivalence of human nature keep us from being free in the work of love. The coming of Christ, in the midst of history, changed the balance of power between love and hate, life and death, and set us free to love. Love became the energizing, reconciling force in human existence.

B.C. and A.D. marked the transition, not only of time, but also of the old relationship we had in which our power of love was imprisoned in our fear to love, and of the new relationship in which our power of love was set free by the love of God in Christ. Now the triumphant power of God’s love is at work in the world and is available to all who seek to do the work of love anywhere and for anyone. Accordingly, the work of the Christian relationship was and is the breaking down of walls of separation, and the reuniting of man and God, man and man, and man with himself, in all which work we participate.