Bonded for Life

Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life….he will die. Genesis 44:30,31 (New American Standard Bible)

The past few days have found me reviewing the story of Joseph from Genesis 37-45. Each time I read it, God brings a different treasure to light. Today’s gem sparkled dramatically as my eyes landed on the phrase, “his life is bound up in the lad’s life.” What a beautiful description of a father/son relationship! For that word ‘bound’ has the same meaning as the word ‘knit’ we find in I Samuel 18:1 when “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” Both words come from the Hebrew word Qashar and mean to bind, tie, bind together, bind fast, and bind to oneself. It is where we get the phrases, “close-knit family” and “soul mate.”

In the past, these biblical examples of extraordinary relationships would have been limited (in my thinking) to human interactions. It would have awakened in me the realization that an ache was present that no person was presently relieving. But today I couldn’t help but see that this is exactly the longing of God’s heart for each of us. Hosea’s words state it beautifully, “I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love.” When we become God’s child through faith in Christ, we are bound eternally to Him. His life is bound up in ours and His soul is knit to ours. For any who have longed for closeness and intimacy, this realization is profound!

Each of us was created with a need for love, acceptance, nurturing, and inclusion. What we derive from other people can be wonderful but it is a mere sampling of what God offers to us on an ongoing, personal level. And yet often, God has to first woo us to Himself and convince us that He can be trusted to be that personal and that close to us. It will be especially difficult if a person’s life has been filled with a lot of hurt, disappointment, and rejection, because the relationships we have had can be used by the enemy to distort our view of God.

God’s answer? Let Him show you what He is really like and the places in your life that need His touch. Each time you hand to Him what you have painfully carried, He graciously receives it and helps you to become the recipient of His love, compassion, acceptance, and closeness. He wants you to live out of His bond with you!

Father, each time You show me this aspect of Yourself and what our relationship is meant to be like, I am touched and amazed! May I grow in the knowledge of my soul-tie with You! Amen.