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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.
About the author:
www.ffcba.org
Terry Dashner
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