Recently I found out that a ladies discipleship group in our church was using my Core Values as an example for the purpose of developing their own Core Values. I was both surprised and challenged. I was provoked to take them out once again, look them over, and make sure they are not only what I truly value, but what I am also endeavoring to practice in my daily living.
It is not my intention to be overly self-focused in my writing, but as I looked at my Core Values, I thought of how they provide a good starting point for regular posts and food for thought for those who read. All of us have a set of Core Values that we possess and live from whether they are written or not. Our lives are constantly telling on us and shouting to the world what our loves, hates, passions and gods actually are. These are our Core Values. With that said, here are the first of my Core Vaues with commentary following:
"I Value relationship with God and others as the source from which life and all true ministry will flow."
We are relational beings, this much cannot be denied. Though I have met a number of so-called "Lone Rangers" in my time, my experience tells me that the primary reason most people become islands unto themselves is because of betrayal, disappointment, and dysfunction within their relationships. The people that we love and value become the source of our pain. This very reaction is nothing more than proof that we are indeed relational beings.
Every human being is conceived when two people relating in the most intimate terms, mingled their body fluids and cells to form a whole new entity. This conception brought forth a new life that related to its host mother by a life-line known as an umbilical cord. This life-line brought nourishment and connection until the day when this unique personality would be thrust upon its mothers breasts to suckle. Thus begins the journey of life. The journey of dependence, of relationship, of family and community.
This new person is just beginning to experience the human condition, the risky proposition know as relationship, with all of its love, acceptance, rejection, abuse, disappointment, competition etc... It is precisely this experience which primes a person for the knowledge of God and a relationship with Him.
After only a few short years on this planet, we begin to realize that things are not right down here. We see the failure of our biggest heroes, face tragedy and personal difficulty, and learn the law of the jungle. It is often when the props of human relationships have fallen all around us that God reveals Himself to us as Father and Friend. We then begin a new relationship with One who relates to us on His terms alone. These terms begin with the idea of the Fall, and the human need for salvation. We see ourselves as we really are, and God as He really is, in the Person of Jesus Christ. This new relationship becomes the source of all true relationship, and the restorative power through which all other relationships will be made right again.
This new life, this new relationship, issues forth as the fountainhead of all ministry into the lives of others. It is only within the context of this new relationship, that we can find what God truly intended for all human relationships. This is why the Great Commandments begin with loving God with our whole being. To love my neighbor as I love myself, I must experience the settled reality of God's first loving me. Only then am I able to return that love to Him. I can try to love my neighbor, but until I have encountered being loved by God and then loving Him, my love for my neighbor will always fail and fall short.
So, this is my first Core Value. This is an impossible proposition apart from God's love. This love is most clearly demonstrated and embodied in the Person and life of Jesus Christ. I have received love and relationship, so now I can give them. This is the law of the kingdom of God. This is what I value!
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