((In)ter)Dependence

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7). This verse lays out the three stages of our relationship with God. First, we must come to realize that we are dependent on God. For everything. Everything that we are and everything that we have is because of Him. We would not even be able to draw breath if our Heavenly Father did not will it to be so. When we have humbled ourselves sufficiently to recognize that we are truly nothing without our Heavenly Father, then we have enough faith to ask for what we need and trust that it shall be given to us. And it will. But dependence is not the end of our journey. Each of us possesses two things that are uniquely ours - our intelligence and our agency to choose for ourselves. As important as it is to recognize that we are dependent on the tender mercies of the Lord, it is equally important to discover that the Lord requires that we learn to think and act for ourselves. We must claim our independence, and all of the freedoms and responsibilities that such independence entails. With our independence comes the second part of the Savior's admonition and promise - "seek, and ye shall find." God does not want to command us in all things. He has given us time and talents and resources and He expects us to develop them. If we encounter a problem with no easy solution, then we must study it out in our mind, and seek for a solution guided and prompted by the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. If we seek sincerely, with real intent and with faith in Christ, we will find the answers we are looking for. And after dependence and independence, there is a third stage - interdependence. When Christ was among His apostles and they asked Him to show them the Father, He asked them if He had been so long among them and they had not known Him. He explained that He and His Father were one, and to know one was to know the other. In other words, they were completely interdependent with each other. They shared the same vision, the same goals, the same resolve. They could trust one another completely. They abided in each other's love. This is the kind of relationship that Heavenly Father wants with us, and the kind of relationship that we should all be striving for. If we can truly muster the courage and the humility and the trust to offer our whole souls to God, holding nothing back, doubting not, fearing not, then we can truly knock on Heaven's door, just as Christ stands at the same door and knocks. If we can open up fully like that, then God also will open up fully to us. We can abide in Him as He abides in us. We can have our will swallowed up in His, just as His will is swallowed up in ours. We will become interdependent with each over, both giving and receiving everything that we have. First, when we are dependent, we ask and it is given to us. Then, when we are independent, we seek and we shall find. And finally, when we are interdependent, we knock and the doors of Heaven are opened to us, that we may enter into the rest of the Lord, abiding in His heart as He abides in ours.