Communication
If I were to ask you about the one aspect of daily life that is most important and why; what would you say? As you may have guessed by the title of this particular post I would have to say that communication is the most important for me. I think we take the ability to communicate for granted all the time. It is very rare that I take time to think about the act of communication. Now, this is not to say that I don’t contemplate the way in which I communicate, but rather that I even have the ability to communicate. Think about life without communication…It is hard to even imagine. This would mean no speaking, writing, reading, hand gestures, facial expressions, nothing. Would it even be possible? The world would be complete chaos. In the midst of this chaos would be you and I just floating through trying to make sense of even our thoughts.
All of this leads me to another point, would we be able to exist if it were not for communication? I don’t know. In order to have a relationship with anyone we need communication right? Relationships are built upon this ability to communicate. We communicate feelings, thoughts, humor, etc. and that is how relationships are formed. I love the thought of relationship, but I seldom think about the fact that relationships are built on communication, at least not until communication fails, or there is a miscommunication. This can be very frustrating and disastrous.
Now think about God. How well are you communicating with God? If communication is essential to relationship and God desires a relationship with us then that means that we actually have to talk with him. God wants to know us, even though he knows more about you and I than we do. We were created for relationship. God is relationship. I guess what I am saying is that if communication is basic to an abundant life, then we need to get back to the basics.
I have been burdened by this over the last few weeks. As a youth pastor I spend a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to communicate to teens and families. I have also spent time trying to program something really cool and super engaging for them. However, somewhere in the middle of all of that I have forgotten that programs, games, and sermons are not what is going to make a difference in these teens lives…it is relationships with God and with each other, but in order to achieve that relationship we have to talk to God. This means prayer, and I think that is what we must do in order to see God work in our lives and transform this world around us. It comes back to prayer, and what an incredible gift that God gave us to be able to model relationship just like to ones God has given us here on earth through communication.
Here is the question, what are you doing to communicate with God? It is a tough question, and one that I struggle with myself. I hope that you choose to trust God enough to pray and begin building the relationship with him that he longs for. Peace and love.
