The Love Connection

From the beginning of time, the idea of relationships played an important part in our human existence. One of the first acts of God was to create a companion for Adam. Why do you think that was? Scripture answers this question in Genesis 2:18 where God stated "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." A helper and his partner; clearly this was God's initial design for loving relationships.

Over the years, I've come to realize that relationships teach us a lesson or challenge us to show His love to a hurting world. Sometimes I fail - fail miserably - at these teachable moments and other times I don't even realize that I've done the work of God. For many years, finding the balance between serving others and taking care of myself has been my greatest challenge. I always felt that I was failing on one side whenever I served the other. To understand this balance, I've come to believe, you must be grounded in God's Word. You wouldn't go on an unknown journey without a map or directions would you? Being guided and repeating the directions, gives us a sense of familiarity for the unknown. Before you know it, traveling that path becomes second nature because we have faith in where it brings us. The same is true with scripture - when you come across a life challenge, you can recall God's promises and directions in how to tackle the challenge. You don't have to go out and seek opportunities - God places them in your path every day.

Did you know that the bible gives us 39 lessons on relationship building? Yep, 39 lessons on how to love from your heart, ways to encourage, how to honor, how to serve, and promote harmony. In a hurting world, there's no lack of opportunities. We are certainly living in "selfie-centered" times. How do we promote other-centered living in a self-centered world? We commit to being present to whomever God chooses to put in my path at that very moment and we engage by listening. Not listening so that we an offer advice, but listening to hear what God wants us to hear and respond for Him, through us.