Some Final Thoughts on Relationships
July 04, 2012
Over the last week or so, we have shared some thoughts and reflections on a variety of issues, including singleness, dating, marriage, parenting, family conflict, sexuality, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Hopefully, this has been helpful, even though we haven't been able to address every possible question.
I pray that these thoughts will be part of an ongoing conversation - with the Scriptures, with our world, and within our faith communities.
Each one of us find ourselves in a current situation or circumstance. We can't change the past, though we can seek to repair broken relationships and find a place of forgiveness. We can't guarantee the future. But we can deal with today. We can choose to be the kind of people God wants us to be ... right here, right now.
Jesus gave his followers two basic commands: love God and love people.
The apostle Paul picked this up and gave us a detailed description of what this love looks like ...
1 Cor.13:4-7. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. NLT
We can't always change others but we can change ourselves. Be a thermostat (a proactive influencer of the atmosphere) rather than a thermometer (a reactive instrument). Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with all the love, power and wisdom you need for your relational world. When we love others genuinely, we offer worship to God (because we are kids who reflect what their dad is like) and we offer a compelling witness to the world (when they say, "Look how they love each other!").