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Today we are looking at our relationships and considering how they impact our spiritual life.
Welcome to Run With Horses. My name is Norman and my goal is to help you Thrive as as follower of Jesus. The spiritual battles we face are real. The battles of the future will require you to be growing and trusting God even more than you do today. How can you be the person that you need to be to face the challenges of the future? Your relationships play a big part in your spiritual life and growth. Who you hang out with affects your thought life and your choices. True Spiritual Health requires us to pay attention to our relationships.
We are getting closer to completing our look at the five areas of life that influence our overall Spiritual Health and potential for growth.
Spiritual Life – The life lived in Jesus, in communion with God.
Basics – prayer, spiritual community, bible knowledge. Or three areas of spirituality – doctrine, affection (love) and experience.
Mental Life – Mental life includes emotional, psychological, and social aspects. It is how we think, feel, and act, and determines how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Includes education.
Physical Life – From conception to our last breathe we are physical beings. We don’t have control over much of our physical life but our choices do influence our health and ability. Exercise and diet are key.
Emotional Life – There are many types of emotional skills (aka emotional intelligence). These skills: like emotion regulation, gratitude, empathy, and kindness — help you relate better to others and yourself. Feelings don’t lead us but they do impact us greatly.
Today we are looking at our Relationships– Humans are interconnected. The family and community play an important role in our lives. Humans are meant to connect with others on a personal and emotional level and strong, fulfilling relationships help people build and maintain emotional health. We need people.
“We are relational beings, but the sin that destroyed our relationship with God also ruined our relationship with others. This is why life’s greatest hurts, as well as life’s greatest joys, come through relationships with people.”
So how do you deal with the fact that people are a pain and yet we need people on so many levels? I mean, sinners abound! But comfort comes through people. Encouragement comes through people. Jesus gave the call to love and serve . . .people. And then again, our greatest hurts come from people. So what do you do?
There are options. You can be a hermit. You can avoid as many people as possible. You can live near people without any real connection to them. It is not uncommon for people to attend a church for years and not really get to know anyone. It is possible to live near others and never meet.
But Jesus calls us to relationships with others. Why?
1. We are God’s ‘A plan’ to reach the world with the good news of His Son. There is no plan B.
We are Ambassadors for Christ and have the message of Reconciliation that the world needs to hear.
Mark 12:29-31
Not easy. But not complicated. Love and serve others for the sake of the Gospel.
2. Our loving service and use of our gifts builds up the church towards maturity. Maturity builds unity. Unity glorifies God.
1 Cor. 12:12- 26 –
The fact that Jesus is returning should motivate us to love each other, comfort each other and use our gifts to build each other up.
1 Thess. 5: 1-11
But Relationships are Hard! You might say. And you would be right. No getting around it. Sin is a real thing, even in the life of a believer and we are easily swayed by our hearts to choose our own way rather than Jesus. That usually doesn’t work out well for our relationships!
A good question to ask yourslef, if you are a follower of Jesus and consider yourself His disciple, is : Do my relationships look like the relationships that Jesus had with people?
Phil 2:1-11 –
Jesus humbled Himself for the glory of God. He wasn’t a doormat. He ran people out of the temple with a whip, also for the glory of God. Jesus lived a life that lifted up God. That desired showed itself in every action and in every relationship.
As a follower of Jesus we have the same calling. To live a live that is pleasing to God. One that glorifies Him in every relationship as we put Him first and help others see how great that He is. It really isn’t an option to avoid people. Our choice is how will we relate to them? Will our interactions with others make the message of the cross clear and allow the Hope of the Gospel to shine bright? I certainly pray that they do. Life is all about our relationships.
How are you doing in yours this week?
References – https://www.globaldisciples.ca/blog/christian-relationships-relating-with-others/
The question we all must ask ourselves is not “Where will I be when I face the most difficult challenge in my life?”, but “Who will I be?
Thanks for joining me today. If you have thoughts or questions about your spiritual life, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net I would love to hear from you.