At its heart, the Christian faith is relational.
Why? Because God at his heart is about relationship. He is, after all, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There is relationship in the Trinity. God created us in his image so that we could know him. He incarnated himself in Jesus, who had real relationships with real people. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead in order to reconcile us to his Father so that we could enter back into relationship with God. The whole story ends with God living among his people as their God.
So, it is no wonder that the reality of our faith is revealed most clearly in our relationships. In fact our love for God is only as good as our love for others. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21).
Whoever loves God must also love his wife, his children, etc.
The faith was never meant to be just intellectual or theoretical. Jesus shed real blood in order to make real peace with us. The reality of his presence in our lives is seen in our choices to live in peace with each other.
Kip
