Today’s Reading: Romans 12:9-21

We are called not only to trust God but also to trust one another. Without trust, true relationship and love are impossible. As I wrote on Monday, it takes trust to be vulnerable with someone and it can be scary! That is why trust is not automatic; it is something that must be worked at and built overtime.

Throughout scripture, we find that we are instructed to offer our trust to others. In the letter to the Romans, Paul encourages the community of faith to be devoted to one another and to honor one another above themselves. Both of these things require trust! One cannot be devoted and give wholly of herself without at least a little faith that the other will not take advantage or harm her. And in the book of James, the author tells us to confess our sins and shortcomings to one another. This certainly takes a good deal of trust! We must trust that the other person will keep our confidences and that they will not manipulate or harm us by holding our missteps against us.

Yet it is only when we trust and open ourselves to others that our relationships can grow and blossom. As we walk in relationship with one another, let us seek not only to trust, but also to be trustworthy, that we may foster true companionship and love in our own community of faith.

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is wiling to trust you with a friendship.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson