Two by Two - Os Hillman - Today God Is First - TGIF
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. Ecclesiastes 4:9
Have you discovered yet that you are incomplete by yourself? During my "warrior" stage of life you would have been hard-pressed to convince me that I needed you or anyone else. I know few people willing to admit their need for others, but many who live according to this principle. However, sooner or later we discover God's truth regarding our need for others.
God made us to need others. We may not discover this until we fail - fail in a business, a marriage, a close friendship, or in a client relationship. We are incomplete without the ongoing input from others into our lives. An independent spirit is one of the most detestable sins from God's viewpoint. It is the highest form of pride. "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice" (Prov. 13:10). God has made each of us so that we have only so many gifts. He did not give any of us all the available gifts. Hence, we learn to depend on others and to humbly trust others to complete us where we are deficient.
David had Jonathan. Paul had Silas. John Wesley had George Whitefield. Martin Luther had Philip Melanchthon, who was 14 years younger. Martin Luther learned that he needed someone in his life to complete the work God called him to do. Luther had the greatest respect for this friend who helped him reform the Church of their day, and the Church as we know it at present. Luther learned a great deal from Melanchthon, who was a great scholar at a young age. He could speak several languages, and he became Professor of Greek at the new University of Wittenberg at 21 years of age. This was ten months after Luther posted his famous theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Melanchthon helped shape the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century through his research, writings, moral purpose, and religious conscience. Luther and Melanchthon became inseparable, and when they died, they were buried next to each other.
Who has God placed in your life to complete you? Perhaps it is a mate. Perhaps it is a close friend. Perhaps it is a business partner. If you lack this in your life, I encourage you to seek someone out who can speak into your life. If you have someone like this, tell him or her how much you appreciate the role he or she plays in your life.
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SCW's Comments: Even though this is easier said than done it is well worth it to build this kind of relationship with people. With my mom and me it's taken 23 years to figure it out and we're still perfecting. People say we are so much alike but even though we are alike in some areas we are very different in others. We think what people see isn't that we are alike but it's that we balance each other. I encourage her in her strong areas, she encourages in mine. I build her up in her weak areas; she builds me up in mine. But there's the big kicker right there, we both have to be willing to admit our weaknesses to each other. We both have to be willing to swallow our pride and accept help and input from each other. We both have to be humble enough to admit when we're wrong. We both have to be patient with one another and listen to each other.
God's now brought Hoody into my life. We are very much alike in our passion for God and our heart for discipleship and outreach. And we are both very stubborn. (chuckle) As we've been quickly learning these last couple of days we both have very different communication styles, how we look at things, and how we approach things. Some of it's good; some of it's not so good. Both of us have had rough relationships in the past so we both pretty much know what we don't want to do. And it's been quite an adventure for both of us trying to figure out the right way to do things. (chuckle) To add to the challenge is working out this relationship long distance: him living in Canada, me in Arizona. And there are communication bonuses and disabilities that go with this. But through God's love and guidance we've been managing even if it doesn't always look all that graceful. He mentioned the triangle thingy in a comment to my “How to be a More Loving Person” on my other site. This is what he was talking about and what we are basing our relationship on. Draw a picture of a triangle, put God at the top, put you in the left hand corner, and put someone close to you in the right hand corner. It can be a mate, a close friend, a child, a parent. The beauty is it works for any relationship. Our goal in life as Christians is to reach the top, to be closer with God. When both people’s focus is to be closer to God (move you and that special someone up on the triangle) then they are closer to each other. Ok class clear as mud? (chuckle just wait till I get to the Star Trek and marriage analogies)
So this morning I just want to thank God for Ty and my mom in my life. Those two special people who are very dear to my heart and I can say I have this sort of relationship with. :D I pray God has blessed your life with someone like this. If He has take right now to comment and add them to the praise.
If you'd like more on Godly relationships I've been on sort of a relationship kick recently even before I met Hoody and you can find some execellent articles on my site Tammer's Information Byte under the catagories "All Things are Possible" and "Every Day Light".
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. Ecclesiastes 4:9
Have you discovered yet that you are incomplete by yourself? During my "warrior" stage of life you would have been hard-pressed to convince me that I needed you or anyone else. I know few people willing to admit their need for others, but many who live according to this principle. However, sooner or later we discover God's truth regarding our need for others.
God made us to need others. We may not discover this until we fail - fail in a business, a marriage, a close friendship, or in a client relationship. We are incomplete without the ongoing input from others into our lives. An independent spirit is one of the most detestable sins from God's viewpoint. It is the highest form of pride. "Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice" (Prov. 13:10). God has made each of us so that we have only so many gifts. He did not give any of us all the available gifts. Hence, we learn to depend on others and to humbly trust others to complete us where we are deficient.
David had Jonathan. Paul had Silas. John Wesley had George Whitefield. Martin Luther had Philip Melanchthon, who was 14 years younger. Martin Luther learned that he needed someone in his life to complete the work God called him to do. Luther had the greatest respect for this friend who helped him reform the Church of their day, and the Church as we know it at present. Luther learned a great deal from Melanchthon, who was a great scholar at a young age. He could speak several languages, and he became Professor of Greek at the new University of Wittenberg at 21 years of age. This was ten months after Luther posted his famous theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Melanchthon helped shape the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century through his research, writings, moral purpose, and religious conscience. Luther and Melanchthon became inseparable, and when they died, they were buried next to each other.
Who has God placed in your life to complete you? Perhaps it is a mate. Perhaps it is a close friend. Perhaps it is a business partner. If you lack this in your life, I encourage you to seek someone out who can speak into your life. If you have someone like this, tell him or her how much you appreciate the role he or she plays in your life.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCW's Comments: Even though this is easier said than done it is well worth it to build this kind of relationship with people. With my mom and me it's taken 23 years to figure it out and we're still perfecting. People say we are so much alike but even though we are alike in some areas we are very different in others. We think what people see isn't that we are alike but it's that we balance each other. I encourage her in her strong areas, she encourages in mine. I build her up in her weak areas; she builds me up in mine. But there's the big kicker right there, we both have to be willing to admit our weaknesses to each other. We both have to be willing to swallow our pride and accept help and input from each other. We both have to be humble enough to admit when we're wrong. We both have to be patient with one another and listen to each other.
God's now brought Hoody into my life. We are very much alike in our passion for God and our heart for discipleship and outreach. And we are both very stubborn. (chuckle) As we've been quickly learning these last couple of days we both have very different communication styles, how we look at things, and how we approach things. Some of it's good; some of it's not so good. Both of us have had rough relationships in the past so we both pretty much know what we don't want to do. And it's been quite an adventure for both of us trying to figure out the right way to do things. (chuckle) To add to the challenge is working out this relationship long distance: him living in Canada, me in Arizona. And there are communication bonuses and disabilities that go with this. But through God's love and guidance we've been managing even if it doesn't always look all that graceful. He mentioned the triangle thingy in a comment to my “How to be a More Loving Person” on my other site. This is what he was talking about and what we are basing our relationship on. Draw a picture of a triangle, put God at the top, put you in the left hand corner, and put someone close to you in the right hand corner. It can be a mate, a close friend, a child, a parent. The beauty is it works for any relationship. Our goal in life as Christians is to reach the top, to be closer with God. When both people’s focus is to be closer to God (move you and that special someone up on the triangle) then they are closer to each other. Ok class clear as mud? (chuckle just wait till I get to the Star Trek and marriage analogies)
So this morning I just want to thank God for Ty and my mom in my life. Those two special people who are very dear to my heart and I can say I have this sort of relationship with. :D I pray God has blessed your life with someone like this. If He has take right now to comment and add them to the praise.
If you'd like more on Godly relationships I've been on sort of a relationship kick recently even before I met Hoody and you can find some execellent articles on my site Tammer's Information Byte under the catagories "All Things are Possible" and "Every Day Light".
posted by T @ 6:50 AM
1 Comments:
I feel the same way, SWC.
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