Never Alone

Reading. It’s one of those important tasks in life that we must learn to master. Whether we read because we have to, or to learn something or for pleasure, reading is an important part of life.

 

August 2004 Trip2 018mI’ve added two new books to my stack. One is The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey. In this book, Covey shares 322 pages of the importance of trust. So far it’s been a good read.

 

The second book is called Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. This book is about relationships and how to build them into our lives. Never Eat Alone starts with a quote by Margaret Wheatley that I’d like to share with you.

 

“Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.”[i]

 

As a believer of Christ, I have read verses of Scripture that pointed me to this conclusion a long time ago. In Genesis 2:18 (NIV), after creating man, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” From the beginning, God knew mankind needed one another. And it didn’t stop in the Garden of Eden.

 

Meaningful relationships (both romantic and platonic) can be found throughout Scripture. Abraham and Sarah. David and Jonathan. Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Apostles. Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Timothy. Aquila and Priscilla. And these are the obvious relationships I can think of quickly. But these are some examples of those who understood the importance of relationships.

 

A couple of years ago, I was doing some research about the “one another’s” in Scripture. What I found were passage after passage of things we are to do for one another. There are too many to write out individually, but I have listed them here for you to look at as you have the time.

 

Below you’ll see a word or a phrase. Add “one another” after that word or phrase and that is how we are to be living in relationships. The passages listed after the word is where the “one another” is found. There may be more, but these are the ones I have discovered. If you know of any that I’ve missed, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

 

Love – John 13:34; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 John 3:11; 1 John 3:23; 1 John 4:7; 1 John 4:11-12; 2 John 1:5

Be devoted to – Romans 12:1

Honor – Romans 12:1

Live in harmony with – Romans 12:16

Accept – Romans 15:7

Be competent to instruct – Romans 15:14

Greet – Romans 16:16

Agree with – 1 Corinthians 1:10

Encourage – 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:25

Serve – Galatians 5:13

Bear with – Ephesians 4:2

Be kind and compassionate to – Ephesians 4:32

Speaking with – Ephesians 5:19

Submit to – Ephesians 5:21

Bear with and forgive – Colossians 3:13

Teach and admonish – Colossians 3:16

Spur – Hebrews 10:24

Offer hospitality to – 1 Peter 4:9

Fellowship with – 1 John 1:7

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

 

[i] Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi, Published by Doubleday, 2005, page 5.

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