The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-10-20
Being Related
Lesson for October ~, 1861

married one single person. we
are suddenly in the midst Of
more in-laws than perhaps we
had reckoned on. But this should
not surprise us. Already at birth
we are related to people we
never saw before and did not
choose. They might not have cho-
sen us, either, to tell the truth.
if they had known how we were
going to turn out! That's life.
From beginning to end we are
related, willy-nilly. to people we
hardly know or don't know at all,
as well as to people we do
know and love. Being related S
the inevitable human experience.
along with death. The Christian
way of life. at base, is simply
recognizing our relatedness more
and more, and living UP to it.
Related to Other Christians
Saint Paul, that world-famed
letterwriter, never finished a let
ter without having something to
say about Christians relation
ships. Most of the troubles In the
church and in the world come
from, and in turn produce, per-
versions, dislocations or disturb
ances in relationships among
people. 1t would not solve all
our problems if each Of us could
be shut up in a tight little cell
all his life: for then we should
never br human. But we can't
live an unrelated life no matter
though we tried. So what the in
spired Apostle has to say about
relationships is always just what
we need. The world has changed
in appearance since New Tesla
ment times, but the inter-related-
ness of men is a more vital prob
lem than ever.
In Philippians 2:1-18 and in
ColossianS 3. most of what Paul
has to say is directly on the
problem of the relation of Chris
tians to other Christians. It's a
mistake to think that just be-
cause you are a Christian. that
you will never find other Chris
tians a problem. or that they in
turn will have no problems
caused by you. This writer has
lived at various times in COM
munities in which every one was
a protested Christian; but per-
sonal relationships could get to
some acute crises all the same.
Paul found this to be true in the
Christian communities (churches)
to which he wrote. The most
common destructive fact tor,
often, was quarrels, sometimes
over important but sometimes
over trifling matters. Paul's
remedy is always the same: Be
like Jesus, and put yourself in
the other persons place. Easier
said than done? To be sure; but
remembering it is the will of
God, we can have good hope that
he will bless our every effort to
live as the family of God.
Related to Outsiders
Being related to outsiders pre-
sents another problem. They do
not recognize us as brothers and
sisters; if they did, they'd have
gone a long way toward being
INSIDERS. But how can we be
related to uninterested or even
hostile persons? Here we have
to remember what has already
been said: We are related, no
matter how we botch the rela-
it's still there. The
question remains, thought the
other party wants to have no
part of us; if we'r dealing with
people who are uncongenial,
mean, not Christians by inten-
ton or. in fact, persons who don't
know the first syllable of broth
erhood, who profess no interest
in God or His people: yet who
are related to us in some way or
ways (as e.g. by marriage, bust
ness relations, social contacts
and SO forth, then what? Paul
puts it into one big little word:
SHINE!
Can We Grow?
What Paul means. no doubt, is
that the start of Christian rela-
tons is to be a Christian first.
Even if the other person is not a
Christian, you can be one. Even
if the world around you is dark.
you can shine.
Probably there is no need to
ask the question: Can we grow
in our Christian relationships?
That does not mean having more
friends, it may have little to do
with friendships. It means being
more Christlike in all our re-
lationships both with the Chris
tians and nom Christians, with the
neighbors you see every day and
also the people you never actu-
ally see. OF course we can grow
in this as in all that is good-if
we are really alive!
Biased on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu-