A Love / Hate Relationship
A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, one of our brothers made a statement similar to this:
I love meeting together with this church, because I know that you all love me and care about me and when you ask me how I’m doing, you won’t let me just give you simple answers, but will really ask about my life and how things are going especially between me and God.
But, I also hate meeting together with this church, because I know that you all love me and care about me and when you ask me how I’m doing, you won’t let me just give you simple answers, but will really ask about my life and how things are going especially between me and God.
I’ve been thinking about his statement alot lately. Isn’t it true? We want community… we really do. But, many times, we don’t really want to expose ourselves to other people in the manner necessary in order to maintain a healthy community.
This love / hate relationship really shows a love / hate relationship with ourselves. I think it is natural and healthy, as long as we’re allowing the Spirit of God to continue to work in us to open ourselves up to other people in spite of our “hate” of such things. (By the way, the brother who spoke those words does just that, talking about things that are sensitive and often painful for his own spiritual growth and the growth of the church.)