Throw Down Your Weapons!

I implore you to cease and desist! There is something I need to share with you. It is important that you hear this. It is imperative that you are able to receive this message. This word could actually change your life or someone around you. If not, I guarantee it will influence your decision-making for the better.

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     Often times when you bring up the word relationship people automatically think of who they are immediately involved with, such as husband and wife or girlfriend and boyfriend. Fortunately for us, this word encompasses much more than just the obvious. For instance, if I say God is concerned about how we relate to one another our immediate thoughts go straight to the person that we have continuous contact with on a regular basis contingent on how you are tied to them.  The truth of the matter is the word relationship goes all the way back before time, before earth, before man. Heaven was and is all about relationship. Lucifer broke it. The entire battle we find ourselves in the middle of is about a relationship that was broken. That fight is not about good vs. evil. That’s too obvious for many, and yet extremely clever for our enemy. Good versus evil is way too evident for such a clever opponent as Lucifer. Still don’t get it? Whose side are you on? Who will you support? Whose side do you believe? Whose side will you fight for? I’m not asking you to tell me who you chose. I am imploring for you to look at how you chose. Ultimately, we choose the one we relate to the most. Whether it was God or Lucifer, the real battle is about the relationship. Who makes you believe that they can relate to your needs the most? Now I can hear some people say, “How can you say God or Lucifer?! There is only one choice!”

     How can I say that, you may ask? Easy!  Just like this. We support the side that we relate to the most. How do you choose a friend? How do you choose a mate? How do you choose a career? How do you choose a church home? We choose from what we know, have experienced, and what we recognize from those understandings and familiarities. Sounds harmless, right? Regrettably, the horror is yet to be discovered. Looking at it this way, you find out often times that you did not always choose God. At some moments in your life you were a double agent, a cheater, another one who broke relationship. Satan is all about the familiar. The only way he can get to many of us is through something we recognize. The average believer knows enough about him to know what he’s all about… on the surface. Where he gains leverage is through the very thing God cherishes the most. Relationship!

What is Relationship?

     Koinonia is a transcribed form of the Greek word, κοινωνία, which is defined as communion, joint participation; the share which one has in anything, participation, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, etc. (I can already feel someone’s heart jerking. Don’t worry, mine jerked too. Sometimes, we just simply forget along the way.) This definition describes what we are familiar with (the surface). It establishes the romanticized state of camaraderie, friendship, partnership, and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ. According to my research, the word appears 19 times in most editions of the Greek translation of the New Testament. In addition, it is in the New American Standard Bible translated as "fellowship" twelve times, "sharing" three times, and both "participation" and "contribution" twice. All I’m saying here is these are the accepted definitions of relationship. So as I move on let it be known that I have acknowledge the various definitions of the word and not disputing them in any fashion or form. What I am going to do is share the revelation the Lord gave me. In order to do so, He advised me to go look for the original meaning of the word itself. So much confirmation was there. I became so excited because I was having that “A HA” moment! You know the one when He lets you know you’re on the right track? That was me doing the internal happy dance.

     The word has such numerous meanings that there is not one single word in our dictionary that can express its depth and richness adequately. It is an imitative of "koinos", or "common". Koinonia is a multifaceted, full, and comprehensively fascinating Greek approach to constructing community or teamwork. Some have written that “koinonia” embraced a strong commitment to "kalos k'agathos" meaning "good and good", an inner goodness toward virtue, and an outer goodness toward social relationships. Does any of this sound familiar? Any sermons or revelations coming to mind yet? In the context of outer goodness, the meaning holds the idea of joint participation in something with someone, such as in a community, or team or an alliance or joint venture. If you study the word itself, you may find there is always an interpretation of action included in its significance. So again, I ask you, how do you choose your relationships? Simple. It is based on your familiarity with the main relationship in your life.

Warmest regards,
Bird

B & F Ministry