Monday, October 17, 2022

Symbiotic Relationships


Good morning class! Today we will be learning about different types of symbiotic relationships. There are three basic kinds. Which ones do YOU have in YOUR life?

The first is called mutualistic. That's where both people benefit in the relationship. If you have a best friend, that would be a good example. Mutualistic relationships are mutually beneficial. 

Another example of a relationship would be commensalistic. That's where one benefits and the other gets nothing out of it. This is basically a one-sided relationship. Unrequited love would be an example. One person loves another but does not receive that love in return.

The third type of relationship is parasitic. That's when one party consumes and damages the other. They are parasites, like a tick or a mosquito.

Look at the relationships in YOUR life. You probably have experiened all three types at one time or another.

There is actually a fourth type of symbiotic relationship. I'll call it a sacrificialistic. One person benefits at the willing sacrifice of another. Jesus is an example of this. He died so that we might live.

There ARE examples of these sacrificial people in our lives today. A kidney donor, a surrogate mother, a soldier.

Look at the relationships in your life. Can you find examples of all four? I hope and pray your relationships are teaming with mutually beneficial and sacrificially offered relationships.

And if you don't have a sacrificially beneficial relationship in your life, you can find one in Jesus. All you have to do is ask Him for that relationship. He has already paid the price for it.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:13

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