Wired: Belonging (Part 1)

Chris continued speaking on belonging in the wired series. He opened by sharing some statistics about relationships and belonging. Both science and the Bible agree that you need relationships, and you need to feel like you belong. He then shared that the enemy of belonging is shame. Chris dove into an in-depth exploration of Genesis 2 and 3. In Genesis 2, the focus is on the harmony of relationships and the belonging that existed before the fall when everything was as God created it to be. Chapter 3 is about how those relationships were corrupted by sin. Chris shared in Genesis 2 that there was a stable relationship between all things. Man, and Earth shared a relationship where man cultivated the Earth and it produced food, as is highlighted in their Hebrew names, ha’adam (man) ha’adamah (ground).

In a similar way man shared a strong relationship with woman. Woman was created from man’s side so that she was neither above nor below man. She was created to be man’s partner, his equal. After the fall, these relationships became broken and corrupted. Humanity would struggle to grow and cultivate the earth, and the earth would yield its fruit unwillingly. Man and woman’s relationship was also corrupted, as man would seek to dominate woman. Relationships were supposed to be whole and healthy but instead those relationships were broken. Chris ended his message in John 14.  Jesus shares that he is going to prepare a room in the Father’s house. Jesus is saying that he is restoring our relationships, and in the end we will live together as a restored and whole family.

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