GMG Week 1 Reflection

A good friend from our small group in Charleston recently shared a blog that was helping her with her quiet times and after checking it out I thought it would also be helpful to me too. So I've started studying 1 John with the Good Morning Girls group. One of the things the group encourages is for participants to blog about what they are learning through the study, so here goes!

Week 1: 1 John 1:1-4 (NASB)

"What was from the beginning what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the Word of Life-- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."

Two things stuck out to me this week as I studied these verses:

1) The author makes a big deal out of his personal experience with Jesus. He was not just relaying stories he heard from someone else. He had first hand experience with Jesus. We too can have first hand experience with Jesus! That is what the author here is inviting us to- into fellowship with the Word of Life, the One who spoke all of creation into existence, the Savior of our souls.

I feel like I can get into a spiritual rut where I rely on other people (our pastor, our small group leader, my mentor, etc) to teach me about Jesus. Just last week I was complaining to my girlfriends that I was really missing our church in Hawaii because I felt like I was really learning and continually being challenged by the messages our pastor in Hawaii would give and how I didn't really get that at our church here. And as I was complaining it dawned on me again (this is one of those lessons that I have to re-learn every so often because I'm kinda dense) that I am the one responsible for my relationship with God, and I am perfectly capable of studying His Word myself, but I have just been lazy lately and just wanted to rely on someone else to tell me.

The problem is that no matter how wonderfully crafted and powerful a sermon is, listen to someone else talk about what they have learned in their relationship with God is not the same as experiencing that relationship for yourself. It would be ridiculous for me to rely on a mutual friend to tell me what is going on with husband rather than spending time with him myself. It would even be ridiculous to rely on a mutual friend to tell me how another friend is doing when I could just speak with that friend myself. Those relationships would eventually die if that is how I treated them. But sometimes that is how I treat God. Thank goodness for His faithfulness even when I do not invest in our relationship like I should!

2) We are created for community. Community including God and other people. God creates us with this need for one another. Whether you are a Christian or not, everyone feels it. No one wants to be alone. We all want to share at least some part of our lives with other people. I believe it is even more than that, I believe we were all created with a deep longing and need for a relationship with God, whether we recognize it as such or not.

When something good happens, when we achieve a goal, or when we find a really good deal on something we've been wanting for awhile (girls, you know what I'm talking about!) we have the urge to share it with someone. When we get a new job or a promotion we celebrate by going out with our spouse or our friends. When we get married we throw a big party known as a wedding. When a new baby is on the way we have a baby shower. Just the other day one of my girlfriends was excited to show me a darling little outfit she had just gotten to bring her baby home from the hospital in a few weeks from now. Big things, little things, they are more fun and exciting when we can share them. Which is exactly what the author of 1 John meant when he said "these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."

Meeting Jesus and having a relationship with Him is a big deal. It is life changing for those of us who know Him. It is natural to share that joy with others. We were created to be in community with one another and to share our joys and struggles. For me, it is so helpful to have other women who share my faith that are willing to listen to all of my triumphs and trials related to faith or not. I need their support and perspective and wisdom.

Personally, I am so incredibly grateful for the wonderful women in my small group. We get together at least twice a week. Once with all our husbands and kids for an actual planned "small group meeting" in which we study the Bible or discuss a book. And then the ladies get together every Sunday afternoon for Vietnamese Pho at this little restaurant in our town. We are generally there for a good four hours and we talk about everything under the sun- our marriages, motherhood, our dreams, our fears, what we are learning, how we are failing, my fear of Hawaiian centipedes... I always leave our weekly Pho dates rejuvenated, encouraged, and often challenged.

It amazes me how God created us to need one another. My relationships with my family and friends are the most cherished things I have in life. My joy is complete when I spend time sharing life with those I love.