“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
(John 13:34–35)

Our aimless, lonely generation has great difficulty understanding such concepts as the interrelatedness of humankind. Involvement with our roots is reduced to snapshots and phone calls at Christmas. Family reunions and seasonal rituals are nearly extinct as relatives become curious aliens to our children. All this and much, much more, plus the inevitable, irritating hassles connected with cultivating close relationships, cause us to move away from each other into our own separate houses where we isolate ourselves still further in our own separate bedrooms. We pursue self-sufficient lifestyles that make sharing unnecessary.

In the dictionary we find that being involved means “to draw in as a participant, to relate closely, to connect, to include.” When you and I involve ourselves with someone, we “connect” with them. We think of them as we make our plans. We actually operate our lives with others in clear focus. We draw them in as participants in our activities. We include them.

To break this down into manageable terms, Christians have at least four areas of involvement to maintain:

Our involvement with God. In the past, this involvement resulted in our salvation—our new birth through faith in Jesus Christ. Currently it is our everyday walk with Christ through life. To maintain a close connection with our Lord, we think of Him as we make our plans, we pray, we explore the rich treasures of His Word. This is the single most significant involvement in all of life, but it is not automatic.

Our involvement with members of our family. Parents, children, relatives, mates . . . Christian or not—all of these people comprise our circle of close contact. We include them in our thinking— some, of course, more closely than others.

Our involvement with other Christians. Usually, these people are selected from the church we attend. The number grows as we “connect” with others through areas of mutual interest. Some of us could list literally hundreds of Christian friends with whom we have a relationship. This becomes a major factor in our ability to cope with life on this planet, an otherwise lonely and discouraging pilgrimage.

Our involvement with non-Christians. We work alongside them, do business with them, live near them, go to school next to them, and are usually entertained by them. Unfortunately, most Christians cut off all close ties with non-Christians within a few months after salvation. Small wonder we find it difficult to share our faith with others.

Taken from Strengthening Your Grip by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2015 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Worthy Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.