The Circle with Cogs

Every single person exists in circles of relationships.  Maybe we could call them spheres of influence. There is the work sphere, the church sphere, the neighborhood sphere, the school sphere and more.  In that circle are certain people that you basically only interact with in that sphere. There might be some overlap in those spheres, but usually the larger part of those people are distinct from the other circles of relationships. In really small communities there might be a lot of overlap.  It is always a notable thing when someone from one sphere enters into a different sphere. This is often when someone’s integrity or hypocrisy gets exposed. Nevertheless, these circles of relationships are a normal part of life.    

Today I want to call you to put yourself in another circle.  Or perhaps this might be more of a mental exercise of identifying certain people that will be a circle in your mind.  So what circle am I calling you into? If you are already in circles, what is different about this one I want you to join?  The difference is this circle has cogs. This circle isn’t a smooth wheel, it is a gear that necessitates movement. Gears move things.  Cogs have edges that grip and create motion.  

What in the world am I talking about?  I am talking about who influences you and what is the driving force of their influence.  What I am wanting for you is this: to create and/or join a circle of relationships where the driving force is the unquestioned, ultimate and final authority of God’s all-sufficient word.  

There is a degree of influence in every relationship.  No one is a perfectly smooth wheel that produces nothing in anyone else.  All the people at your work influence you to some degree. The same is true for your family and neighbors.  Keeping up the Jones is a cliché way of saying this.

But there will be people that you allow influence into your life.  There are people that you press up against for the very purpose of being shaped and moved.  The highest order are those that you want to be like. These are mentors. Others are simply those that are speeding you along, and most importantly they are speeding you along in the right direction.  

My point in this blog is to define what it is about them that should drive their influence.  What are the cogs of their life that should create motion in your own cogs? Those cogs should be an unwavering commitment to God’s Word.  That should be what creates motion in your life. Nothing else should stand as predominantly as this reality about them. Not their personality.  Not their experience. Not their societal status. Not their resources. Those features about them will vary. But the one thing you need to know without doubt is that God’s word is authoritative and sufficient overall in their thinking and living.

This is important because sometime the gears are going to grind.  We have ideas that clash. We have personalities and cultures and habits that do not mesh well.  This is inevitable. So the question is this: what will move the relationship along, and us along with it?  What is the cog that is bigger than all the others? It must be commitment to God’s Word.  

If you have a circle of relationships where you know that commitment to God’s word is the biggest cog, then you can let the debate flow.  Ask all the hard questions. Challenge them with examples and experiences. You can do all of that because you know no matter what, the one thing that comes out on top is God’s Word.  You will be forced to deal with it, and handling it in a poor manner will not be tolerated. That is what you need in people around you.  

I have already mentioned that one of your circles of relationship should be a church.  A church should be a place where you go for the very purpose of being influenced. For that reason, you much be certain that your church is explicitly, demonstrably and enthusiastically committed to the authority and sufficiency of God’s word, starting in the documents of the church and embraced by all the leaders of the church.  

However, even in a church like that, there will be always be new people coming.  Some of them won’t start with this commitment clearly fixed in their mind. You should help move them toward that.  But when it comes to what moves you, it can’t be those people; not until they have that one driving commitment.  

So God is placing you in spheres of influence and relationship.  He is doing this by sovereign providence. But whatever those circles are, there needs to be one circle that has cogs in it.  A circle of people who are, in your mind, those who operate as a gear that grips you by the authoritative word of God and move you accordingly.