Perfect communication...

Interconnected... Terry Dashner I'm sure you are familiar with the term, conjoined twins or as they are more popularly known--Siamese twins. These are twins who are joined in such a way that they share some organs. There is ordinarily an interconnectedness circulatory system, so that the vital fluids flow through the entire conjoined body. In many cases, the two persons share some vital organs, so that they can only be surgically separated by sacrificing the life of one of them or even both of them (Millard J. Erickson, Making Sense of the Trinity, Baker Book House Co, 2000). A fairly recent example is the Holton twins, Katie and Eilish, who were born to parents living just outside Dublin, Ireland. They were conjoined from the shoulder to the hip, and shared one liver and one intestinal system. They had two legs, and two arms in roughly the normal place, with two additional arms protruding from the middle of their back. They had two hearts, and the remainder of the normal organs in approximately the usual fashion, although their torso was larger and heavier than usual for a single child. The parents had to make the agonizing decision whether to approve the surgery attempting to separate them. They were determined that under no conditions would they decide to sacrifice the life of one to preserve the life of the other. Finally the decision was made to proceed with the operation, which was attempted in May 1992. Eilish survived, but Katie died after a few days. An autopsy revealed that her heart was weak and underdeveloped, and that she had been relying on the action of Eilish's heart to supply her part of their body with blood. Eilish showed strong indications of missing Katie. Here was a case where not only the bodies but the lives of the two were so intertwined that one literally depended very heavily on the former psychologically. Whereas the personalities of the two twins had been quite different, Mr. and Mrs. Holton testified that Eilish who had been the more serious of the two now took on some of the personality qualities of Katie, especially her playfulness, so that, in the parents' words, 'It is as if a part of Katie lives on, as well.' (Ibid., pp. 63-64) In reading this story again, I thought of the interconnectedness of the Body of Christ--that is the Church. I also thought about the Trinity. Not only do the three members of the Godhead interpenetrate each other and supply their life to one another, but that all three are involved in all of the works of God. Certain of these works are primarily the doing of one of these rather than the others, but all participate to some degree in what is done. Thus it is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at work together in my salvation, healing, sanctification, resurrection, and glorification. The glue that keeps the Trinity and even the Body of Christ together is God's love. Please note that I said it is God's love that binds us together and not human love. There is a big difference in the two. This morning I want to share with you some of the differences between God's love and human love. If we can note the differences between the two it will help us maintain relationships even when our love has been tested and sorely tried to the point of exhaustion. We can truly love are neighbors as ourselves. And we can even love our enemies with God's help. There are three separating factors that make human love what it is--incomplete and imperfect. The first separating factor is our physical bodies (Ibid., p. 59). We are separated, and the law of physics which states that two physical objects cannot occupy the same space will always have that effect, as seen in the collision of automobiles or football players. Our physical makeup has the advantage of making us distinct, unique, and individual; but it has the disadvantage that communication between two human persons must take place through some medium. There are many mediums through which humans communicate. I may communicate ideas, feelings, information or conversation through media, voice, art, body-language, touch, emotion and the list goes on. The problem, or the break down, in communicating comes because the medium itself is imperfect. Is there a solution to communicating in an imperfect world, through an imperfect medium, to an imperfect people? Yes there is. I will illustrate the solution by reading Romans 8: 26, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (NIV). In the immediate context the Bible is telling us that there is sometimes a breakdown in our communication to God by prayer. Sometimes we have things on our heart, and we just can't put them into words. It is at these times that the Holy Spirit will help us communicate what is truly on our heart. The Spirit of God will articulate through our prayers what we need to say to God. He does this by "groaning" through us. In other words, the Holy Spirit can supersede our physical limitations in communicating effectively unto God. He can use even our groans to speak the eloquence of our hearts before the Father. I have one question for you. Do you pray in the Holy Spirit? A second factor separating human persons from one another is differing experiences (Ibid., p.59). To the extent that we have not had similar experiences we have difficulty identifying with the other, and frequently have trouble communicating. This may affect the communication process adversely. We use a particular symbol, assuming that the other person understands by it the same thing that we do. Thus, we may think we agree when we do not, or that we disagree when we are actually talking about different things. We are unable to 'get inside the other person's head' to experience what he or she has experienced. Again the Bible addresses the problem of communicating in spite of differing experiences. I Corinthians 12: 14-26. Listen to verse 26, "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it" (NIV). The eye of the body was not made by God to experience and interpret the same tasks as the hands, the mouth, or stomach. However, because the eye is of the same organism as the hand, the mouth, and the stomach, it will experience the same pain against bodily attacks. Empathy is key to communicating when life's experiences are not equal for all parties involved. The third separating or isolating factor with human persons is preoccupation with one's self, one's own needs and problems, which makes it difficult to focus on, understand, or empathize with other persons. Because we are so caught up with our own needs and problems, we find it difficult to really focus on the other's concerns. Because God is other-oriented, and is completely secure in himself, each of the persons of the Trinity is so also, and each is able to identify fully with the experiences of each of the others. There is nothing to distract them from this (Ibid., p.60). I've listed three isolating factors that keep humans from effective communication. A physical body, differing experiences, and preoccupation with one's own life can hamper effective communication between us. However, I'm going to end this document by elaborating on what I mentioned in the beginning. Yes, you and I will always run into problems in communicating with one another. We are imperfect creatures with an imperfect and limited love for one another. Nevertheless, that does not keep us from having godly and holy fellowship and relationships in Christ Jesus. God's love is perfect. When we recognize that our love has reached its limits, it is at this time that we call on God. We are to call on God to love with his perfect love through us. "Lord, I'm having a difficult time in loving this person but your Word tells me to love everyone. Therefore, God love this person through me." Remember, God's love is not an emotion. To love our fellowman with God's love is a decision on our part to love in spite of how we feel towards someone. We "will" to love our fellowman in spite of how we feel about him. Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is perfect Love! Pastor T.