Being With: Maybe This Is What Life Is All About

In spite of its apparent simplicity, "being with" is a phrase with deeply profound significance. Having someone who cares enough to "be with" us, personally and authentically, is arguably the deepest of all human needs. In times of crisis and loss, the reality of this need is apparent and inescapable; and yet, "being with" relationships turn out to be equally as important in our day-by-day activities. Modern-day medicine and psychology have made it incontestably clear that authentic personal relationships are central and irreplaceable in the nurturing of human health and healing. Amazingly, it turns out that the pledge to "be with" us is the most consistent promise of the God revealed in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. In other words, what we human beings need most is precisely what the God of the Bible promises to give to us--and what he calls us to share with each other! With so much significance loaded inside this one little phase, it follows that much of our hope to be whole and fulfilled human beings, living in a healthy and productive world, rests on a conscious commitment to nurture "being with" relationships, personally and within the various levels of human society. This book explores the foundations, implications, benefits, and procedures for becoming "being with" people living in "being with" relationships.