LEGO bricks illustrate the important principle that we were made for connection. The social media explosion shows how much people want to connect. But in reality, Americans are less socially connected than ever. Here are several reasons why connecting with others in healthy relationships is important.
Your Relationships Probably Stink
Many people have little or no support network. People don’t know how to make friends. We recognize how shallow social media relationships can be. People increasingly do activities alone that people use to do socially. Many have a history of wrecked and disposable relationships. Of course, some do have great relationships. But are your relationships really working the way you would like?
You Were Created for Connection
This is one reason why we want better relationships. Just like LEGOs were made to connect, so were we.
Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
God didn’t create just one human, but two. This isn’t just about marriage. Marriage is one significant way to connect. But the larger principle is true for everyone. We need other people in our lives.
LEGO bricks come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. But with all that variety, what they have in common is that each one can connect with every other one. Early LEGOs were made to stack. The ability to connect was a revolutionary change that set them apart from simple building blocks. Not all LEGOs have equal capacity, but all are made to connect.
Life Works Better When You’re Connected
Because we were created for connection, it makes sense that life works better in relationships. We know this intuitively, but the Bible makes it clear.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Work is more successful when shared. Life is safer when you have someone to pick you up and to defend you. Life is more enjoyable. But when we’re alone, you’re at risk. Do you have people in your life who play this role for you?
God Likes It When You Connect
God himself is connected. God is relational because the one God exists eternally in three persons. Without getting into the details of the Trinity, the Bible is clear that the Father loves the Son. Jesus loves and listens to the Father. God values relationships because he is relational.
The Old Testament shows how God values relationships. First, he created a people. When God called Abraham to follow him, it wasn’t just an individual relationship. He promised Abraham that from him, he would create a whole nation. Second, God shows special care for people who are alone in the world, particularly widows and orphans. Widows and orphans are easily exploited because they are powerless. They are powerless because they are alone. God calls his people to defend their rights.
The New Testament shows how God values relationships. First, he created the church. People who follow him are gathered into a group referred to as a family, a body, and other relational metaphors. The New Testament has hundreds of verses instructing God’s people on how to live in relationships. In the New Testament, salvation is never envisioned in the New Testament as an individual experience.
Ephesians 2:20-21 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
When you follow Jesus, you are connected to his people as well. He joins you with others into a building that he is constructing. In that sense, we are like human LEGOs! God is snapping us together to make something – a temple where he can dwell among us.
So relationships really matter to God. They matter for us. You don’t have to be the very best friend to everyone at church. But you do need to know some people well. It doesn’t matter if you are an extrovert or introvert. Are you connected the way God has in mind?
Together We Can Change the World
God used the New Testament church to change the ancient world.
Acts 2:46-47 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
You can see all kinds of relational connection taking place in these verses. And notice the resulting impact: many people were brought to saving, transforming faith in Jesus. The rest of Acts shows how this group of peope changed the world. Eighteen times, Acts records statements of growth and impact.
Acts 6:7 God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem.
History shows how the church together continued to change the world. When Jesus departed, he left 120 followers. There were thousands by the end of the century, and more than 1.25 million by the end of the next century. As Christianity spread, slavery and infanticide eventually ended in the Roman Empire. Christians have been united to impact the world ever since, and still are today.
LEGOs can be combined to make amazing things. With just six bricks, over a million combinations are possible. But no LEGO can be any more than it is until it is put together with others. The same is true in our relationships as well. Decide today that you will take the next steps to connect in relationships.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- What were your (or your child’s) favorite LEGO sets, and why?
- What do LEGO bricks teach us about how relationships work?
- What signs do you see that people are less socially connected than in the past? Why do you think this is so?
- Genesis 2:18 suggests that human beings were created for connecting. What other evidence points to the conclusion that people need relationships?
- Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. What are some ways that life works better when we are not alone? What would you add to the list of reasons in Ecclesiastes?
- How do we know that relationships matter to God? Why is this important?
- Do you believe that people working together can change the world? Why or why not? How much does this motivate you to connect more with others?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
