A God in Relation: At the Bottom of Reality

Here's a wonderful passage from the preface to Walter Brueggemann's An Unsettling God that's worth the price of the book alone. It's something to keep in mind as that fuzzy phrase "relationship with God" is mulled over.

Our society is now tempted to solve societal (and therefore personal) problems by old, predictable remedies. These remedies often seek to reduce solutions to power or technology or to more commodity goods. Thus political threat is countered by more military power. Thus problems of illness or aging are managed by more technology. Thus loneliness is overcome by more commodity goods, whether cars, new information technology, or beer. What we know, however, is that the most elemental human issues -- social and personal -- do not admit to such resolution. The reason is that human persons in human community are designed for serious, validating relationships that call for mutual care and responsibility; no amount of power, technology, or commodity can be substituted for relatedness. Thus Israel's great confession of faith is that at the bottom of reality is the fidelity of a holy God who seeks relatedness...

Unfortunately, Christianity in its current guise has probably joined the parade to some extent. The "good news" or "gospel" becomes a message of cold, hard problem solving, not unlike something you'd hear at a business conference. Its essence is information almost as an end in itself - God is perfect, you are not perfect, but here's how you can get into heaven; here is the information you need.

The problem with this solution, as Brueggemann highlights, is that it fails to speak to the deep-seated human need for "serious, validating relationships". It fails to address our predicament, our root issue, which is not sin in the abstract but separation from our Creator and consequent separation from our fellow humans. When sin becomes the issue, we can try to clean it up with right living, or sign up for a free pass into heaven. But when separation is the issue, only relatedness can bring redemption. I think of Paul's gospel proclamation found in 2 Corinthians 5:

Be reconciled to God.

"It's not about religion; it's about relationship" was how I began the previous post. I said I liked this line, but on reflection I would change one thing in it. I would add an "s" at the end. It's about relationships. Knowing the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and knowing our fellow human beings. It is this community that lies at the bottom of reality.