For those of you who know me, then you know (other than football and pro wrestling) one of my favorite topics to discuss is relationships. They are vital and date back to the beginning of man- see Genesis 2:4-25 and Adam and Eve. We were designed to be among other people. We were designed to live life with other people and have friends and date and marry and have children. It is great to do these things, but there is a point where those people that we have been living life with do things or say things that we get upset about. It is up to us on what we do with that emotion. Do we submit to the emotion and ignore people that we have known for a long time (or even a short while)? Or do we focus on being loving like Jesus? Hard to do, but here are some reminders.
In Matthew 5 we read through the sermon on Mount. In verse 44 Jesus speaks on what people have been taught and teaches them a new way. He says to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This can also be applied to a person you are having a relational issue with. If you and your friend/family member are having an issue and you saw them on the side of the road with their car broken down in the pouring rain or snow, do you just drive on by them and just hope they get help? That is not very loving. Even if they are an enemy for the time being, be loving. If you know of someone or a group of people who is persecuting you, pray for them. Pray that they will let God come into their life and take over their heart. We as Christ followers have to set the standard on being loving, just as Christ loved us by dying for us on the cross.
In Romans 12:1 we read that we are to be living sacrifices to God. We sacrifice those things that please us in moments in order to please God. We worship Him by doing what is right in his eyes with His will. Jesus, while man and God at the same time, showed us what it is like to submit to God's will even when it is truly painful. Yes, what someone said or did was painful, but that does not mean that you have to wish them hell or throw away the relationship forever due to an offense or disagreement. I love to make jokes and while I have brought smiles to many, there are some that I have offended. Their choice was to tell me about the offense and forgive me even if I defended my joke and attacked their sensitivity. There are numerous times where I had to go back and apologize because in the moment I was not walking with the Holy Spirit and needed to seek forgiveness in order to restore the relationship.
I challenge you today to seek forgiveness from someone that you have offended. I also challenge you to forgive someone who did or said something to you that has hurt you. Then I challenge you to make a phone call or see someone to reconnect. This gives them the chance to also apologize for what they may have said. But overall, it allows us to shed what was holding us back relationally and put on a robe of righteousness in moving forward to honor God.
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