Your Relationship With....

Life is about relationships. God has shown His desire to see His children in the world work together by cooperating, loving, serving, respecting, admonishing, rebuking, correcting, and training in accordance to the Word of God. So how are your relationship among these people?:

RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)

Not only this applies to fathers but mothers as well. We are to show our children the love of God.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

RELATIONSHIP WITH AN OLDER MAN

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. 1 Timothy 5:1 (NIV)

RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUNGER MEN

Treat younger men as brothers, 1 Timothy 5:1 (NIV)

Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 1 John 3:15 (NIV)

This is the same for the sisters. Anyone who hates his/her sister is a murderer as well. Everyone must get along with one another and love!

RELATIONSHIP WITH OLDER WOMEN

older women as mothers, 1 Timothy 5:2 (NIV)

RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUNGER WOMEN

and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 1 Timothy 5:2 (NIV)

RELATIONSHIP WITH ENEMIES

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Matthew 5:44 (NLT)

If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Luke 6:29 (NIV)

Jesus said, "..love your enemies!" with an exclamation point! Jesus stressed this because this is a common problem among us all today! In the Barna survey, about 60 to 70 percent of Christians have a hard time forgiving other people. I am not sure of the number but it is somewhere around that percentage or even higher. It's alarming! Jesus emphasized that He desires genuine and loving relationship with just as anyone as possible, including our enemies! Even, Jesus asked God to forgive them for what they had done to Him (crucify).

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34 (NIV)
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7 (NIV)

RELATIONSHIP WITH LEADERS

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7 (NIV)

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:15 (NIV)

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Of all relationships, the most important relationship you need is with God. When you begin a sincere relationship with God, I mean, "sincere", then your relationship with others will be very deep! This is a command, not an option. This is life, not a habit.

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

In order to love God and your neighbors (children, older men, older women, younger men, younger women, enemies and leaders) requires deep humility before our great Lord God. Here are a couple of things we are to do to build strong relationships:

SET A GODLY EXAMPLE:
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

How are you talking with others? How are you living your life before others? How are you loving the love of God? How is your faith? How is your purity (mainly in your heart)?

THEY ARE BETTER THAN YOU:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (NIV)

When you see someone, you're looking at someone better than you! Always!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)

If you don't love, you don't know God and God does not know you. A person that lives without love in their heart is seen as a person of bitterness.

LET THE SCRIPTURE EQUIP YOU FOR BETTER RELATIONSHIPS:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

We need to use the Scripture to teach, rebuke, correct and train a person to become right with God so that they will, eventually, do great work for Him.

So, how are your relationships?