![]() That’s only possible as the Holy Spirit enables you to look beyond their hurtful actions to see their pain and the need for the Savior. This is easy when people are lovable, but Jesus tells you to also love those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28). “Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Pet. Second, a spirit of love must be active and evident in your life. Your relationships cannot be right if you’re harboring sin in your heart and living in rebellion. This describes your position in Christ, but it’s also something you can pursue in a practical way by dealing with sin quickly and living daily in a way that honors the Lord. ![]() Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. Romans 14:19 tells us to “pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” Paul clarifies how to do this in Ephesians 4:1-3: “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”įirst of all, to develop and maintain great relationships you need a pure heart. So what does God say it takes to live in peace with one another? Much has been written and said about how to have good relationships, but until we deal with the issues in our own hearts, root problems will remain. Whereas “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The deeds of the flesh include hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions. As you look at the way you respond to others, what’s more apparent-the fruit of the Spirit or the deeds of the flesh? The contrast between the two is seen in Galatians 5:19-23. We’ll always have an internal battle with the flesh. The Lord gives us a new, righteous nature at the moment of salvation, but we still live in fallen human bodies. When we act like this, we’re letting our flesh control us instead of walking in the Spirit. If we allow anger or resentment to creep in, we’re in danger of destroying a relationship for the sake of winning an argument. Too often we defend our views rather than listen and try to understand another’s way of thinking. But it’s easy to react in a self-centered, quick-tempered, critical, or easily offended way when there’s a disagreement. Our disagreements had nothing to do with the ongoing nature of our deep friendships.Ĭonversations about different perspectives can be very enlightening, even energizing. These discussions were sometimes fairly heated, yet after an entire evening of arguing over our perspectives, we still remained buddies. But none of us could definitively prove that we were right. ![]() Each of us firmly believed our stance and cited Scripture as evidence to support our view. When I attended seminary, several friends and I would sometimes debate the Bible’s teachings on end time events. Stanley shares the importance of valuing relationships and the art of disagreeing with friends and loved ones-without being disagreeable. But we don’t need to agree on every issue to enjoy meaningful connections with one another. ![]() Yet we often find ourselves at odds with each other due to our differences. Relationships can be one of the most vital and rewarding areas of our lives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |