February 16, 2020, | Pastor Nathan Elms
One of the greatest lies that humanity tells itself is that it doesn’t need others…
We are born needing others…
For the first two months of life, they can't lift their heads without help. They usually roll over for the first time at about 4 months, and sit up at around 6 months. They usually start standing at about 9 months, and take their first tentative steps at around 1 year old, according to infant developmental milestones compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But even then, babies are just getting started. Fine-tuning the most basic survival skills, such as walking and feeding themselves, takes at least another year or more, and the little ones generally remain dependent on parents or caregivers for well over a decade before they're even able to begin to navigate parts of the world on their own.
We die needing others…
Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget put a witty spin on the the matter by announcing her fear that she would die alone “and be found three weeks later half-eaten by Alsatians.”
It’s not so much their presence… it’s a meaningful connection that we crave…
This is for anyone who fears dying at home alone. It is about my friend Judi, my fellow volunteer at the animal shelter. Like me, Judi moved here alone and established a rich network of friends.
Her family was all out of state. She visited me when I was in the hospital and brought me gifts.
Judi didn’t show up for her volunteer shift on Thursday, and she didn’t answer her phone, so two staff members drove out to her home together. They suspected she’d died at home and wanted to be the ones who discovered her so they could handle it in a compassionate and dignified way.
Judi didn’t get found by neighbors tracking a smell, she was not eaten by her cat (volunteers are currently arguing over who gets to adopt Amber). She was missed by her friends and promptly found. I will be one of dozens of genuine mourners packing her memorial service.
Judi was not forgotten because she didn’t forget. Judi was not without friends, because she was a friend. She lived a great life and had a good death. She just went to bed in her home one night and didn’t wake up the next morning. It’s an exit to be envied.
I will miss my friend. Kristin Noreen
We are pieces meant to fit with others…
Don’t let yourself think that You and enough for you.
Love makes no sense, but it makes everything else make sense…
Satan deceives Eve to break this state of perfection. Remember, humanity needs a connection with God and a connection with people. So sin divorces humanity from God.
We will never be Whole unless we have a connection to God and a connection to people.
Our most fallen condition is separated from God, and isolated from people.
Yet that is exactly where your vanity will take you.
The example of God in creation … even if we were whole, we would want to connect with others.
The example of Christ on earth … (Mark 3:13) And he went up into a mountain, and called unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out demons:
In this series we are going to look at the spiritual consequences of needing others, needing love, needing to be made whole…
-romantic relationships
-parenting
-family
-friend
