Bring it Back to Basics (Before it Falls Apart)

Way back in elementary school science, I was introduced to the idea that for every big, noticeable object that I saw in my world, there were uncountable numbers of infinitely tiny things on which the form, substance, and characteristics of that object relied for its very existence. I was taught that each of those miniscule things – atoms – were held together by bonds of shared energy in patterns and balances that allowed the objects to maintain their integrity.

It is a law which matter must obey. A break in the energy bond, an imbalance in the pattern, and the object mutates into something other than it was meant to be or disintegrates altogether.

It is a physical law that gives understanding to a spiritual law.

The things that are built in the spiritual realm - relationship, family, community, the body of Christ, the Church – MUST rely on their smallest parts being knit together in proper balance and with the energy or power of the Holy Spirit holding the bonds.

You are one of those atoms. Your immediate family members are the atoms which make up the primary bonds to which you must be connected in order to create a stable structure to then expand out into community and church and worldwide bonds. But it all starts at the smallest level. You and those in your household.

May I give you permission? If you are striving to build a structure of relationship that expands broadly, wait. Pull back if you have overextended your stability. Bring it all the way back down to its smallest, most immediate level and repair the bonds that you find unstable there.

Does it mean letting go of some big ideas? Maybe for a time.

Does it mean admitting that you’ve reached too far out there without the connection to the Spirit to sustain it? Probably.

But that is often what is necessary to build a far-reaching, monumentally impactful structure that will stand the test of time without mutating or dissolving.

Start with yourself. Do you need to solidify your bond to God through private prayer and study? Do you need to spend time allowing Him to take you back to the beginning and remind you of who you are, why you are designed as you are, and what your connections and purposes in the world are meant to be?

Are you solid on an individual level, but find that your connections to your immediate family lack the fruit of the Spirit? Do you see cracks in that very base level of the foundation of your life? Spend time there. Allow God to repair the bonds through the power of His Spirit. Don’t build out in the community until home is solid. You will risk covering up and hiding a fatal flaw in the structure that will eventually come apart when the weight put on it by outside bonds and connections becomes too much.

It’s difficult to admit that we need to be brought back to more basic, building-block things to become effective in our larger goals. We often don’t  want to let go of our deliberately-sought connections that have actually caused an unsightly and ineffective mutation in our purpose and design. We feel a sense of shame, condemnation, and defeat.

Bring the whole mess to the God who knit you together. It is, after all, Him in whom we live and move and have our being. [Acts 17:28] He can help you disassemble the improper ways you’ve connected to others and reconnect you in healthy and productive ways. The One who provided a way to empower you where you are powerless, who connects you to those who will share their energy with you and be strengthened by what you bring to the bond, will build in you and with you the tangible and eternally impactful structures of His Kingdom.