Church ... I need you

One of the factors resulting in a lack of wellbeing in peoples' lives is busyness.  When we talk to others they talk about having too much in their lives! We long to be in control and yet the more we attempt to control our lives the less we appear to succeed.  God calls us first and foremost to 'be' his children.  The problem is that we often rush from this call to doing, and don't adequately reflect on what being or relationship are about.  The church has a very important role.  One aspect of that role is to remind people that 'who we are' is more important, and comes before 'what we do'.  Let me explain what I mean by that: the fact that we have a relationship with God as his child comes before what we do in that relationship.

A French Trappist André Louf wrote a book entitled Tuning in to Grace ISBN-10: 0879079290 ISBN-13: 978-0879079291.  In the chapter on the spiritual gifts he looks at love.  My spiritual director directed me to what he said about love in relation to vulnerability.  Louf talks about how we move to doing things for others too early, we bypass friendship to avoid vulnerability.  This is something as a Christian leader that has challenged me, both in terms of how I engage with God, and friendship with him, as well as how I engage with his people: the church.

        "If I start too early ... to do things ... I am skipping the important stage of friendship. 
        THAT STAGE IS PERHAPS ESSENTIAL" (emphasis mine) ... "It is possible that, 
        unconsciousily, I am very eager to leave this out, because it is really much easier 
        to do something for others than TO LET THE OTHER APPROACH ME AS 
        SOMEONE I NEED" (emphasis mine)

In my life I am really reflecting on this.  I feel, not only is it important to me and my ministry, but that it is important for my walk with God.  My relationship with Him must be centred on being vulnerable to Him and acknowledging that I need Him.  It is not about what I can do for Him (How absurd that looks as I write it!).  Likewise as a Christian in leadership my relationship with others is not to be from a position of strength, nor from a pedestal of invulnerability.  My relationship with them may be in the context of leadership but also vulnerability.  Our relationships in the church should remind us that we are to build real and lasting friendships.  We are to be vulnerable, and we are to allow others to minister to us in our vulnerability.

I'll finish with as exerpt from Louf quoting The Blessed Guerric D'Igny (A 12th Centuary Abbot)
        Proprium est amicitae
        humiliari pro amicis

         It is the property of friendship
         to make itself small before its friends