Thread: personal relationship with God

It dawned on me that a relationship is supposed to be 2-way.

(1) What does God provide in the 'personal relationship' that is claimed by Chrsitians, (2) how do Christians know that God is providing this, and (3) would this item (whatever it is) be sufficient to sustain a human relationship?

In other words, can I refrain from giving my friends and family the bits and pieces of a more conventional relationship (time, support, items, etc), if they believe simply that my good will sustains them?

Originally Posted by free radical

It dawned on me that a relationship is supposed to be 2-way.

(1) What does God provide in the 'personal relationship' that is claimed by Chrsitians, (2) how do Christians know that God is providing this, and (3) would this item (whatever it is) be sufficient to sustain a human relationship?

In other words, can I refrain from giving my friends and family the bits and pieces of a more conventional relationship (time, support, items, etc), if they believe simply that my good will sustains them?

You sock it to 'em, friend. I am not qualified to attempt an answer. :P

God is a creation of the mind to explain and understand creation and phenomena

(Delusion occurs when people believe God exists outside their minds)

My God is a true friend and is always honest, even when its painful to hear, and always gives the best advice, even when it's difficult to follow.

Always shows me love, understanding, forgiveness, compassion and mercy, but can also kick my ass when need be!

My God always has the best answers, much to my annoyance sometimes!

minxy, my latin is a bit rusty - does your latest avatar (Ascendo Tuum!) mean what i think it does (i.e. "up yours") ?

if so, i like it - makes it easier to insult someone without them realising what hit them

Originally Posted by free radical

It dawned on me that a relationship is supposed to be 2-way.

True, but what is the nature of "2-way"? By that, I mean, isn't it possible to have a relationship where one party is oblivious of the other? There are creatures in the wild who have such a "relationship."

Second, at what level does the return have to be in order for it to be considered a valid exchange, and therefore in support of "relationship"?

Thirdly, I think in order to answer this, we have to consider what the interaction possibilities are for God. For example, you can pray for a new car, but it isn't going to just fall out of the sky and land in your driveway. Also, what is it that people are seeking from their relationship? Are they seeking spiritual quideance? Protection for their soul? Protection from worldly troubles/dangers? Success? It may very well be that God interacts with us in subtle ways, and through others.

I'm not so sure there has to be a mutual 2-way physical response between two parties for there to be a relationship. One of my good friends from college couldn't speak, yet her and I had some of the best conversations. In another point, we all have online friends who we probably don't have any clue who really are, and probably only have talked to in text messages in forums or in game chat. That's still considered a relationship, yet there's no physical, no face-to-face, only words.

I'd love to explore this more right now, but I have other things to do. Maybe later.

Originally Posted by marnixR

minxy, my latin is a bit rusty - does your latest avatar (Ascendo Tuum!) mean what i think it does (i.e. "up yours") ?

if so, i like it - makes it easier to insult someone without them realising what hit them

Aio MarnixR eu! :-D

Originally Posted by free radical

It dawned on me that a relationship is supposed to be 2-way.

(1) What does God provide in the 'personal relationship' that is claimed by Chrsitians,

He gave his all, his one and only son, Jesus, a humble carpenter. What more could you expect?

If I were a carpenter
I'd give you my awl.

Whatever.

8)