Counsel from the Cross. Connecting broken people to the love of Christ

by Elyse Fitzpatrick, Dennis Johnson

Tags: responsibility, isolation, loneliness, trust issues, depression, emotional problems

Excerpts:

 RELATIONSHIPS DEFINE US. Who we love and who we think loves us in a very large part make us what we are. What we think of ourselves is greatly influenced by what others think of us. If we grew up in a very troubled home or if we are in troubled relationships now, anxiety, doubt, and fear may color every area of our lives. Yes, our relationships are very important, and many of us spend enormous amounts of effort, time, and money looking for the key to making our relationships stronger, more satisfying. This desire for relationship, although broken and self-focused, originates with God..

  ..Because he [God] has made us in his image, we too are social. Being utterly alone, shipwrecked on a desert island, is terrible because God has declared that it is not good to be alone (Gen. 2: 18). We need relationships from the very moment of our birth until our death.

We need to be fed and cared for. We need our parents to teach us how to live and relate to others. As we grow and mature, we desire to care for others and be in strong lifelong relationships. Even at the end of our lives we never outgrow our need for others. We need them to feed us, care for us, and finally to carry our body to the grave. From our first days until our last, God has so fashioned us and the world in which we live that it is not good to be alone at any time. We are not to be independent. He has made us dependent, frail, and in need of the help of others..