Relational Life
God will never turn His back on us. He loves us. He wants us to have and do so much more than we know. The life He has given us through Jesus is not a boring, weak, uneventful life. God has given us abundant life (John 10:10). It is a life that gives joy and peace to others. A life that is in motion, always growing, always giving, and always strong. The life we have been given in Jesus is a life so big that we cannot contain it.
In Matt. 22:37-40 Jesus gives us the two greatest commands. One, love God first and foremost. The second is to love others exactly how we love ourselves. Loving others should come naturally as the overwhelming and uncontainable love of God fills us to overflowing, but it doesn't. We live in a world with other imperfect people and there is an enemy who does not want us to have or experience the life Jesus gave us. The abundant life given to us by Jesus is based on our covenant relationship with God through Him and it includes other people.
We were created by God for fellowship. In Genesis Chapter 2 God said it is not good for man to be alone. So He made the woman to live alongside the man. We were made to help, to love, to care for, and to commit to each other. The Bible is full of stories and examples of every kind of relationship you can imagine, good and bad. There is the Creator and created, husband and wife, parents and children, bosses and coworkers, siblings, extended family, neighbors and yes even enemies and bullies.
Relationships are work and they can complicate life when they are out of balance but Romans 12:9-21 describes how we are to live with and serve our fellow man. It addresses taking care of yourself in order to be God's hands in the lives of others. It tells how to respond to your enemies and how to treat your friends. It even goes so far as to tell us to give assistance to all people, even if they have hurt us. We are all called to come alongside each other and share this life that we have been given through Jesus.
There are so many people in the world today who are in all kinds of pain and who are heartbroken, sick, and abused. Some are neglected and turned away and some are broken. In fact, there are so many people with so many needs that it may seem like an impossible task to help them all. Let me remind you that with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). As the chosen ambassadors of God, we have the responsibility to reach out to all people in whatever way we can. Take the time to listen and talk to people and to pray with and pray for them at every opportunity you are given.
We need each other. We need acts of kindness and words of encouragement to remind us that God is always with us and always looking out for us. We need the strength and support of people who have faced the issues we are dealing with to help us take the next step. We need the wisdom and guidance of people who have persevered when making tough decisions. And when the breakthrough comes and victory is ours, we need people to share and celebrate with.
In all relationships there will be times when we hurt each other. We cannot avoid the pain that comes from sharing life with imperfect people. This is not an excuse to avoid people. We are all human, after all. Now I don't know about you, but I have yet to have a relationship with anyone without hurting their feelings at some point in time. The key to keeping these relationships alive is to be willing to admit your own mistakes, apologize quickly, and see things from the other persons perspective.
If we are unwilling to be vulnerable and risk being hurt then we will never experience the fullness of joy that comes from loving and being loved.
Heidirn
In Matt. 22:37-40 Jesus gives us the two greatest commands. One, love God first and foremost. The second is to love others exactly how we love ourselves. Loving others should come naturally as the overwhelming and uncontainable love of God fills us to overflowing, but it doesn't. We live in a world with other imperfect people and there is an enemy who does not want us to have or experience the life Jesus gave us. The abundant life given to us by Jesus is based on our covenant relationship with God through Him and it includes other people.
We were created by God for fellowship. In Genesis Chapter 2 God said it is not good for man to be alone. So He made the woman to live alongside the man. We were made to help, to love, to care for, and to commit to each other. The Bible is full of stories and examples of every kind of relationship you can imagine, good and bad. There is the Creator and created, husband and wife, parents and children, bosses and coworkers, siblings, extended family, neighbors and yes even enemies and bullies.
Relationships are work and they can complicate life when they are out of balance but Romans 12:9-21 describes how we are to live with and serve our fellow man. It addresses taking care of yourself in order to be God's hands in the lives of others. It tells how to respond to your enemies and how to treat your friends. It even goes so far as to tell us to give assistance to all people, even if they have hurt us. We are all called to come alongside each other and share this life that we have been given through Jesus.
There are so many people in the world today who are in all kinds of pain and who are heartbroken, sick, and abused. Some are neglected and turned away and some are broken. In fact, there are so many people with so many needs that it may seem like an impossible task to help them all. Let me remind you that with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). As the chosen ambassadors of God, we have the responsibility to reach out to all people in whatever way we can. Take the time to listen and talk to people and to pray with and pray for them at every opportunity you are given.
We need each other. We need acts of kindness and words of encouragement to remind us that God is always with us and always looking out for us. We need the strength and support of people who have faced the issues we are dealing with to help us take the next step. We need the wisdom and guidance of people who have persevered when making tough decisions. And when the breakthrough comes and victory is ours, we need people to share and celebrate with.
In all relationships there will be times when we hurt each other. We cannot avoid the pain that comes from sharing life with imperfect people. This is not an excuse to avoid people. We are all human, after all. Now I don't know about you, but I have yet to have a relationship with anyone without hurting their feelings at some point in time. The key to keeping these relationships alive is to be willing to admit your own mistakes, apologize quickly, and see things from the other persons perspective.
If we are unwilling to be vulnerable and risk being hurt then we will never experience the fullness of joy that comes from loving and being loved.
Heidirn
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