You can’t escape the fact that God created you with physical, spiritual, and emotional needs!

You need water! You can’t live without it. You need God’s forgiveness! You REALLY can’t live without it!

In the same way, you need genuine fellowship! You can’t live without it! Authentic fellowship happens when you experience the biblical “one anothers” in your relationships with others, when you meet each others’ God-given emotional needs by practicing Christian love.

For example, here are some of the biblical “one anothers” from Romans 12 and their related emotional needs:

· Be devoted to…honor one another (vs. 10)—Respect

· Rejoice and mourn with one another (vs. 15)—Comfort

· Live in harmony with one another (vs. 16)—Acceptance

· Live at peace with one another (vs. 18)—Security (Peace)

When you practice these expressions of love…when you experience these in your relationships with each other…you meet one another’s emotional needs.

What happens if you don’t eat drink water? Your body dehydrates, your bones begin to ache, you experience excruciating pain, and eventually you die!

Unfortunately, many of us do not experience the living water of God meeting our emotional needs…either directly…or through someone else. We don’t drink deeply from the well of God’s love that honored us with Jesus’ birth, accepted us through Jesus’ death, provided us with peace through forgiveness, and comforts us through his Spirit. Consequently, we suffer from the painful emotions of hurt, anger, alone-ness, fear, and condemnation.

Oftentimes, all we need is a sip of refreshing love that targets our emotional need given to us by a caring spouse or friend. Our thirst is relieved and we are drawn to the never-ending flow of love that is our God who refreshes us with the fullness of his abundance. God will meet all of our needs…emotional needs, too…through Jesus Christ. And sometimes, he wants YOU…the body of Christ…to be his agent of meeting each other’s emotional needs.

To find out more about meeting one another’s emotional needs, check out my favorite relational resource—greatcommandment.net—where you will find an online “radio show,” books, and study guides to help you learn how to apply these principles as a couple, parent, single adult, leader, church member.

To see Sunday’s preaching notes click here:  Meeting Emotional Needs