Made for Relationships (1 Cor. 16:5-9)

But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
(1 Corinthians 16:5-9, NASB)

Sometimes we forget that Paul’s letters are exactly that: letters. And I love how he includes personal notes that remind us of his human need for relationship.

Here, he writes how he hopes to stay with the Corinthian Christians not “just in passing.” Rather he wants to spend the winter with them. An entire season. “For some time.”

We too are made for relationship. We need people around us to support us, to encourage us, and to love us.

Even the most introverted among us need a friend or two. We need interaction with others, conversations, touch, hugs.

We’re made that way. Think of it this way: We’re created in the image of God, right? And our God is a God of relationships. In His trinity, He is in relationship—Father, Son, and Spirit. He created man to be in relationship with Himself.

And so we’re to be in relationship with others.

Find friends with whom you want to spend time … not just in passing, but for seasons upon seasons.