The Christian life consists in a current of spiritual electricity which runs through three angles of a triangle: God, myself, and other people. A block anywhere in the circuit will put a stop to the current…

There are a great many people who, thinking that religion is a straight line between two points, themselves and God, wonder why they are not in touch with Him, or cannot keep in touch with Him. But if they will reflect that all true religion is triangular, they will remember that the difficulty may be found in a short circuit between the two angles at the base, themselves and other people.

Therefore, before we go any farther, 1 want to remind you that our experience of God is all bound up inextricably with our human relationships. If a man love not his brother whom he hath seen, can he love God whom he hath not seen? “If bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest thy brother hath ought against thee, first go and be reconciled unto thy brother, and then come and offer lift.” (Matthew 5:23-24) It is idle for us to try to be in touch with or keep in touch with Him, as long as there are human relationships that must be righted at the same time.

–Samuel M. Shoemaker, From the book:
The Conversion of the Church: The Genius of Fellowship
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