Hard-wired for relationship

 As I was walking toward the smoothie spot during a layover in the Baltimore airport, I felt a tap on my arm as a guy was walking past going the opposite direction.  As I turned to see what he was getting my attention about, he pointed to his Louisville shirt and then to my Kentucky shirt.  I immediately knew what he was “saying,” even though he never said a word and neither did I.  I just smiled and made an acknowledging gesture, and we went on with what we were doing.  Never saw him again and never will, but everything that needed to be communicated occurred in an interaction took three or maybe four seconds.  That was several years ago, but I remember it fairly often because that was such a cool experience.

Connections.  We are created to be in relationship with one another, “hard-wired” as neuroscientist Andrew Newburg puts it, to be in relationship with God.  When we have connections that are healthy and appropriate, our lives are enriched and reflect a holiness that God intended in the way we are created.  Science has shown that, without those connections, there are increased mortality rates among infants who are neglected, orphans who do not “thrive,” higher incidents of mental illness and crime.

Now that the start of school signals a return to familiar routines and rhythms of daily interaction that summer often disrupts, it is a good time to be intentional about renewing and deepening our connections with God and one another through worship, fellowship, pastoral care, and outreach.  Being connected, acknowledging another’s existence and being acknowledged, hard-wired for relationship: it’s as basic - and as essential - as a wordless but deeply communicated interaction during an airport layover.

— Marc Vance