Circle Component #6 Series

Circle Check

Pt. 7 - Circle Component 6

I. Introduction

Circles are everywhere. Entertainment. Games. TV Shows, Sports. And in Science.

In his book, The Book of Circles, Manuel Lima takes the reader on a tour of use of circles in architecture, urban planning, fine art, design, fashion, technology, religion, cartography, biology, astronomy, and physics, all based on the circle, the universal symbol of unity, wholeness, infinity, enlightenment, and perfection.

We are surrounded by circles. Circles is also another way of saying relationships.

We instinctively seem to know that our circle determines our course. Our friends determine our future. We agree that those close matter most.

We have declared that we must know how a circle is supposed to function. If we don't, then we either never fully tap into or harness the benefit of a circle or we exit or sabotage the circle available to us because we are unwilling to pay the price of transparency, vulnerability and submit to accountability that is necessary for the circle to be meaningful. The result is we either suffer in isolation while we call it independence, or we hop in and out of circles, groups, or churches looking for fruit that we so desperately desire and even envy. However, we never recognize that this fruit can only be obtained and secured through intentional and long-term investment of time. So, in time of need, distress, pain we blame everyone who doesn't respond for being shallow or uncaring or we silently wonder why our relationships lack the roots necessary to sustain us.

If we know function, we then have appropriate expectations and demands. There are some things we should expect from our circle and if the circle doesn't provide these things, then we must either demand and develop it in the circle or we need to do a circle check to determine if it may be time for a circle change. As we work through this, I want to encourage you to do a circle check. I caution you again . . . the tendency is to ask this appropriate question . . . Is my circle doing this for me? However, if we are not careful, then we will fail to ask the equally crucial question . . . Am I doing this for my circle?

So, I informed you that right in plain sight in Scripture there are 59 different "one another" statements giving us circle coaching. Then at closer examination, I discovered that all of these statements can be clustered into 6 components wrapped around one core component.

We have stated that the core component around which the other 6 components orbit is . . . love.

17 different and distinct occasions out of the 59 statements is the instruction to love another. 28% of the list is a command to love one another.

We dealt with one of the most difficult of the orbiting components which was Confess/Forgive.

In a safe circle, we are able to confess and forgive. If we don't confess, then we cannot be healed or whole. We must find confidential and careful circles where the circle mates are aware of their own need for forgiveness so that we can confess, be met with grace and together dislodge the sin and struggles of our life. If our church can be made up of circles like this, then our church will always be a bastion of grace for those who are wounded and broken.

The second orbiting component that must be a part of our circle was serve. Serving one another keeps us circled. Serving is about seeing needs and filling them knowing that as we do this others are seeing our needs and meeting those.

The third orbiting component was that we must pray for one another. Praying for one another is only mentioned 1 time directly compared to the 8 times we are told to serve. Our prayers can't be a cop out for serving. Prayer should accompany our service, not substitute for it! We must learn to invite God to do what only He can do while we do what we can do! As we pray, we correctly carry one another's burdens.

The fourth component was encourage. We have been instructed to encourage one another daily so that we will have hope and live holy!

The fifth component was to teach one another. We remain immature due to lack of teaching. The most effective and the commanded kind of teaching here is not a classroom complete with a podium, curriculum and a professor. This type of teaching is the daily insertion of tried and true knowledge. This type of teaching is done regardless of age or sex. It is done based on wisdom we have gained from the practiced Word of God. We all teach someone something. We need the older generation to teach the younger generation. We need the younger generation to share wisdom with the older folks. We need husband and wife to teach. Circle mates must teach. All of this teaching is not based on our truth, but on The Truth!