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Minister's Minute

Interdependence

We raise our children to be independent. Elders want to hold on to their independence as long as they can. But do you think we have perhaps got it awfully wrong?

Remember, it was the independent sheep that Jesus called lost and The Good Shepherd went to find. Isn't interdependence a healthier goal, a more humane pursuit? Isn't a community where people are interdependent, or mutually dependent, just a truer description of a healthy and sustainable web of relationships?

We are not meant to be independent and self-sufficient. We are created to be in community, responding to the needs of those around us. The Bible says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another." (Romans 12: 14-16)

We are also called to serve one another in love, making sure the most vulnerable among us are cared for. There is even a Greek word that for me expresses healthy community. It is translated "one another" but in Greek it is one word, "al-lay-lone. " It's a one-word plurality.

How is our "one-anotherness" doing in our neighbourhoods, in our churches, in our families? This word is beautifully placed in this text, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4: 7,8).

So which is it for you? I want to be interdependent when I grow up.