Introvert Speaks: The Complexity of Being Relational

I have a confession to make.

I don’t always value how God has uniquely made me, as a relational introvert. Can anyone relate to that? (Ha!) 

I know that I am… His daughter. Loved and chershed by my Savior!

And yet, there is that nagging quality about my personality, that sometimes I wish I could rewire myself (yet, I press on knowing God knows exactly what I need to be).

On the days, where my efforts seems misused, I wish I wasn’t so relational.

These Longings

If I were to describe this nagging feeling, I would have to say it is a longing for deep community that etches past everything else that seems to matter in comparison. The drive isn’t for money or fame. It is for community, true community.

As you think about your friends who are highly relational, consider their perspective as you read through the rest of today’s post…

It is a deep burden sitting on top of my spirit, to build real relationships with other people. With others who are trying to figure out what it means to trust and follow Jesus Christ on a daily basis. To figure out how to keep meeting together, in an Acts 2 fashion.

It is.. to discover how to appropriately welcome others to invest in my life, not just in their life.

I want the kind of relationships that God has intended humanity to have with one another and Him too.

This is why God has gifted me with these heavy longings. This right here. A deeper community with His Church. With His people.

These longings can be described as a craving for God-designed relationships, and not settling for technology driven relationships – where it is socially acceptable to ignore our friends or get so wrapped up in us that we forget about them (I am not excluded from this observation, either).

It is about His Church. His beloved. Who stand in need of what you are. They don’t need more time, social media or its followers, or anything else. They just need you. The blessing of who you are.. The blessing of what you can bring to the table with your community.

Here’s What I Want

I want an Acts 2 kind of relationships.

These fluffy, superficial, relationships. Those, I don’t want. I will settle for them, if I must. But, if you want to know my heart, this is what I am chasing after…

I want a community… that is…

• Completely for me.
• Take quality time together seriously.
• Take the responsibility of being there for one another – seriously.
• Willing to keep me accountable.
• Will pour God’s love and Word over my life.

God designed us for a better form of community. Whether or not we are seeking it, is an entirely different question…

And, it is one I am willing to fight tooth and nail for.

I am willing to risk every fluffy relationship to gain these rich relationships I was made for.

Because, the community God has designed His people for. It’s more than worthy of fighting for.

The Fight Against Complacency

In this battle of fighting for relationships where we can connect and relate to one another, there is a lot put on the line. Because, I don’t want to settle. I don’t think we are expecting enough of each other.

And, this challenge of being relational affects our level of complacency. It challenges our way of living comfortable, where we don’t have deep relationships where our sin is called out, God’s Word is loudly announced in our relationships, and we can walk together heart-and-heart as we seek God…

God’s Design for Community

This is the kind of community God invites Christians toward. This is the kind of community of believers we can become. This is where we experience God and His people at its fullest. This is what I want. This is what I am willing to fight for. I am willing to put everything else on the line, to pursue these kind of God-honoring relationships. Let’s not forget the blessing of a deeper, richer, community of believers we find in Acts 2.

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