It's about Relationship

As part of one of my classes, I’ve been asking a few folks questions about their experience over the years at Christ Crossman. What comes through the clearest is how important the relationships have been and are. “Being a part of something” is the way one long-time member put it.  Knowing that we come to a place where we are loved and accepted is vital.

I think this is right on target. The God we worship is not a concept or even a disinterested being. Even though the word Trinity never actually appears in the Bible, it is clear that our God has been about relationship since before the beginning of creation. The best way I can describe a mystery that is truly beyond my full conception is through relationship.

Within the community of God that we name as Trinity, love flowed, and flows, with such power that God wanted there to be more to love, and so that love burst forth with such force that all creation was set into motion. We can get an inkling of that when couples want to have a child because their love is so great that they want a third, or even a fourth, to share that love.

Being in relationship is important on so many different levels. Andrew was telling me about how a really good basketball team works. It’s more than just skill, which is also important; it’s about touching—through hand and back slaps and high fives—that keeps each member of the team connected to the other members. This makes them more than they are on their own. It’s more than just the sum of the parts.

That’s what Christ Crossman is for me. It’s about the relationships that reveal God’s love and presence to me and to others. It’s that we are more together than we can ever be apart. It is about “being a part of something” that is more than just ourselves. It’s about loving and being loved, accepting and being accepted.

John 13:35

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”