Nurturing our Relationships

I believe that one of our greatest duty while on this earth is to nurture relationships. (When I write this blog, please know that this one is strongly directed towards myself!) As humans, we seek affirmation from others and search for companionship. For most individuals, there is never a day that goes by where we are not interacting with someone. Here are my thoughts on our top relationships as Christians:

1. Jesus Christ

2. Spouse

3. Family

4. Friends

5. Unbelievers / Unsaved / Unchurched

What's the best way to nurture relationships? Here's a start:

1. Spend time with that person. Our most important relationship is with Christ. While He knows everything about us, we should spend time getting to know HIM!

2. Listen. There are times when God may whisper words of encouragement and direction. However, if you are like me, (and it's something I'm working on) God may have to SHOUT OUT His instructions. Listening to instructions, the yearning for help from others, or being there matters.

3. Be compassionate. This is something that God wants us to be. He has shown compassion to us in the ultimate way, dying on the cross. We need to show Him compassion through giving up our time to Him and being compassionate to others.

4. Love them. God calls us to not only love Him, but to love others as well. He did show the ultimate love for us anyways. "For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 Loving others may not always be easy, but it is warranted in nurturing the relationship.

5. Honor and Respect the Relationship. God laid out very specific rules/guidelines in the Bible. Though we are human and not expected to be perfect (hence God's amazing and unfailing forgiveness), we are to honor His will. When we can honor and respect our most important relationship, there seems to be a trickle down effect onto others.

6. Cherish the time. Sounds funny right? Not really. When you stop and think about it, you cherish the memories that you have or make. This is the same concept. Cherishing the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love that we have makes us want to nurture the relationship further.

7. Give of Yourself. This aspect probably encompasses many other aspects. But when you give of yourself, truly give of yourself, you lay everything out. Giving God your time, energy, dedication, and heart is what He wants. He yearns for a relationship with you! Matt Hammitt has a song called All of Me. The lyrics are: Your gonna have all of me, Your gonna have all of me, Cause you're worth every fallen tear, You're worth facing every fear, You're gonna know all my love, even if it's not enough, Enough to mend our broken hearts, Giving all of Me is where I start. This pretty well sums it up. Giving of yourself, time and energy, is what it takes to nurture many relationships.

There are definitely other components to nurturing a relationship. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and additions to any of my blogs.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for wanting a relationship with me. Thank you Lord for your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I pray Lord, that as I continue to nurture my relationship with you, that I am able to nurture a relationship with other around me. In your Precious Son's name, Amen.