A Word about Attachment
I am the vine; you are the branches. John 15: 5
Very early in human life, a baby bonds with its mother. There are few things in nature as strong as this bond. A baby is absolutely dependent on its mother and other caregivers for everything—food, warmth, security—everything. When all of these needs are met, the baby experiences a secure bond, and that, to the baby, is love.
Dr. Jim Wilder, in his Life Model books, refers to the Hebrew word “hesed,” usually translated as steadfast or faithful love in the Bible, as attachment, a secure bond like the one we see between mother and infant. He is a psychologist and a pastor who has studied the brain for many years. His connecting what he knows about the brain with ancient scripture and its relevance to our modern world helps me understand how God made us and how best to cooperate with that design.
The Old Testament speaks much of that type of love, the type that depends on God for everything. He is a place of protection, sustenance, and care. God designed us to need Him the way a newborn needs its mother. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” The picture that brings up for me is the baby who is attached to the mother by the umbilical cord. He designed us to attach to Him.
How about you? Do you feel attached to Him? Some of us came to God as adults and may never have really related to the “infant in Christ'' stage in a tangible way. Or some of us have grown up in families where those foundational experiences of attachment were interrupted, spotty, or maybe even absent. Actually experiencing being cared for by God or others may be hard to come by.
But there’s good news. There are ways to reclaim and open the channels of that care, to reestablish that attachment. At ONE we help people in two of these important ways: with hearing God and growing in relationship with Him. In our highly individualistic society, there’s much emphasis put on our individual practices. But, interestingly, both of these ways we practice at ONE involve God’s people helping God’s people. We get to do this together.
During prayer times, prayer ministers and intercessors provide the “where two or three gather in My name” part of Jesus’ being in our midst. We help each other hear God. Worship times, classes, and healing services foster growth. It’s cultivated through smiles and kindness, gestures of friendship, and lots of things that don’t require words. We help each other grow. After having canceled corporate gatherings last year because of COVID-19, we are beginning to open up a bit with a corporate worship/prayer time on Wednesdays through February and March from 9:30AM to 11:00AM. The sanctuary is also open the better part of that day for individual prayer and worship. Perhaps some of our offerings can strengthen your attachment to God and His to you! Please come!