From Practice Resurrection by Eugene Peterson:
Maturity is not a solitary state; it is relational. Maturity does not come about by making the most of ourselves by ourselves; it is making the most of personal relationships. We don’t do that by becoming stronger than the other, overpowering him or her, dominating either emotionally or physically. We don’t impose ourselves. We enter into another person’s life sharing both weakness and strength. We enter the life of another, but we don’t force the entrance. Mutuality is always involved in “be subject.”
— p. 234
We can know and be with God only relationally. God does not present himself to us as an idea to be pondered. God does not present himself as an experience to be savored. God does not present himself as a power to be used. God presents himself to us only in relationship. If we choose to study God as we would study philosophy or astronomy, or set out to experience God as we would a safari in Africa, or use God to change the world for the better or change ourselves into saints, we will never know the first thing about God.
— p. 249