“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones” – Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV)
Many of us have probably heard about the importance of having a strong relationship with God. When our heart is pointed toward God and our relationship with Him is right, this will overflow into other relationships in our lives and impact how we treat others. This applies to all types of relationships.
It is essential that we prioritize God in our relationships, no matter the connection. He should be the most important person in our lives and His Word helps guide us on how to love and respect others. When we prioritize our relationship with God, we take better care of the relationships in our lives.
Putting God First
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who live me and gave Himself for me“ -Galatians 2:20 (NIV)..
When we become true believers, God‘s wishes take precedence over our own desires. He becomes a priority in our lives. In Relationships, if we do not have our firm foundations in Christ we can be drawn away from this priority.
If we join a group of friends and suddenly spend all of our time hanging out with them instead of spending time in God’s presence or devoting all of our time to our significant other and forgetting to fellowship with other believers our relationships will suffer.
Mark 12:30-31 tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” This shows us what is most important in life both of which involve relationships.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” – Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV).
Not all relationships muddle our priorities in fact, many relationships can also push us go grow deeper in our faith.. We may have people in our lives who encourage us when we are struggling and loves us like Jesus. These people are a blessing in our lives. As Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
We can build a Christ-centered relationship but we must first evaluate ourselves. Are we focused in Christ and striving to follow Him? Are we loving and caring for others the way God’s Word tells us to? If not, we can pray to develop these qualities and practice being more like Jesus.
It’s easier to become more like Christ Jesus when we surround ourselves with those who are striving to do the same. But, we need to remember that God’s Word tells us to treat those who love who do not have the same ideals or those who step on our nerves. Relationships of all know and take effort and love on our part. If we are struggling with this, there is no better place to turn to than the Bible, which offers wisdom on how to treat others.
“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other one up. But pity anyone who fails and has no one to help them up. Also if one lies down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)
When you have someone or a group of people who are committed to strengthening each other, it can help us greatly at different points of our lives. When we are at a low point where we are sad or hurt, we can rely on other people to lift us up. Even I good times these people are a great value.
From Pity to Praise 