Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually … we were meant to be in relationship with one another – to connect to other human beings in meaningful and profound ways.

Beyond creation, God is constantly in contact with humans – through the covenants with Abraham and Noah and Moses and Israel, through the words of the prophets, through the poetry of the psalms, and in the physical presence of Jesus Christ … Emmanuel … God With Us.

And even from that very beginning, God was in relationship with those beings – talking with Adam and Eve, walking in the garden with them.

God creates human beings together: God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them.

Turn to Scripture on this: It’s all over the place in the Bible!.

Heard sad, horrifying stories of children who have been found neglected and abused – children who have been denied basic human contact and interactions in one way or another, children who’s emotional and mental development have been stunted because of their lack of human interaction → We were created to be connected to one another.

“The things that cause us to feel pain are things that are evolutionary recognized as threats to our survival and the existence of social pain is a sign that evolution has treated social connection like a necessity, not a luxury.”.

… We may not like the fact that we are wired such that our well-being depends on our connections with others, but the facts are the facts.”

“Across many studies of mammals, from the smallest rodents all the way to us humans, the data suggests that we are profoundly shaped by our social environment and that we suffer greatly when our social bonds are threatened or severed.

Scientific evidence – research done by Matthew Lieberman who contends that as humans, our need to connect is as fundamental as our need for the basic elements of life like food, water, and air.

We are human beings, each and every one of us, and human beings were created to be relational beings. No matter what differences or similarities exist between us. No matter what circumstances in life brought us here – no matter our past, our present, our futures.

“On Connectedness and Faith” – City Dog, Country Frog, pt.

Then we read Part I of the story, follow by this meditation on the relational nature of faith.

Part I is “Spring” and “Summer.” Part II is “Fall,” “Winter,” and “Spring Again.”įirst, we read the Scripture reading from 1 John (above). We broke the book City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems into two sections. Texts used – 1 John 4:7-21 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18įor Memorial Day weekend, I decided to do something a little bit different.

City dog country frog by mo willems