“To see the pattern for the Christian life, we must look at Jesus. When we do, we see that Jesus prioritized certain relationships over others. He did not offer the same level of access and intimacy to everyone around Him. First and foremost, His primary allegiance was always to the Father. At twelve years old, He was already about His Father’s business.1 Everything Jesus did revolved around prioritizing that core relationship above all others. After the Father, the Gospels indicate that Jesus’ closest relationships were with the twelve disciples. These were the people He partnered with, traveled with, taught, trained, and trusted. Within that group, He was especially closest to Peter, James, and John. They were privileged to share incredible revelations, encounters, and conversations with Jesus that no one else did. And of those three, we know that John was the one Jesus loved, the one He charged with taking over His role as Mary’s son.2 The twelve, the three, and the one—this is the picture Jesus gave us of how many relationships we have the capacity to cultivate, and how to prioritize them according to levels of intimacy.”
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Danny Silk,
Keep Your Love On: Connection Communication And Boundaries