Relationship Sunday
Jesus replied,” Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, it always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
In the Book of Matthew, Jesus tells us how to take care of our relationships. He says to love God with our heart, soul, and mind. He also says to forgive those who have wronged us before we go to worship. Lastly, Jesus says that not all those who follow him truly know him.
Most religions are formed around doctrines and rules. But Christianity is about a relationship and not a religion. Christianity is measured by our relationship with Jesus. When Jesus tells believers to depart from him and that they never knew him, Jesus is emphasizing the importance of not only having belief but also having a relationship with Him.
There are two beams on the cross. The vertical beam represents our relationship to God, and the horizontal beam represents our relationship to people. If one beam is out of alignment, the other beam will be crooked. Our vertical and horizontal relationships are connected. Our vertical relationship is important because God wants a relationship with us, and He wants it to be personal and intimate. An intimate relationship with God not only impacts us, but it also impacts everyone around us.
Good and Godly relationships are intentional. We need to be purposeful with the time we spend with others and thoughtful with how we engage others. We often get caught up with what we need in someone else. Love isn’t two halves forming the whole. Love is two wholes coming together. It is two people who have done the work. There isn’t a person on this planet who can fulfill every need in our lives. We can often burden someone with something that only Jesus is designed to fill. There are some spaces in our lives that only Jesus can fill.
Many single people think marriage will satisfy loneliness, but marriage doesn’t solve the issue of loneliness. Having a relationship with Jesus is what can solve it. We are always looking for a remedy to our loneliness in other people, but we have to find a contentment in loneliness. Many single people fulfilled their purpose in the Bible, so we don’t have to be married to fulfill our God-given purpose. If we are just solely focused on meeting that right person then we might miss the great people and great work that God has for us while we are waiting. Yearning for someone is a God-given desire. That longing and yearning is something that Jesus wants to fulfill.
The Bible says it is better to give rather than to receive. Don’t come into relationships with what you can get out of it. We can cultivate our friendships by building around a common goal. This can help especially when we pursue friendships as adults and don’t have the years or “miles” in a friendship like we would with friendships formed in high school.
There is time, seed, and harvest to relationships. We can’t speed up the process of trust. We may not see the results initially, but if we keep sowing, we will see the growth of a healthy relationship.
We have the power to decide the quality of our relationships by deciding how we are going to be regardless of how they are going to be. Some of us have been hurt in relationships, but rejection is merely realignment. God’s protection is often found in rejection, and we may not understand the purpose of rejection or loneliness until years later. The pain that happened to us doesn’t have to define us. God can use our pain as an anointing for us to speak life into other people who are going through the same challenges.
Prayer: God, help us to sow into our relationships. Give us the patience to grow in wisdom and stature so that we may grow our relationships. God, help us to be comfortable with ourselves so that we may discern our relationships. Lord, help us to love others the way you loved us. Amen.