Godly Relationships

I felt so bad, my daughter recently discovered that she is gluten intolerant after experiencing countless headaches, stomach aches, and other pains. The worse part is that I made meatloaf, spaced out and put breadcrumbs in it. That very night she was suffering the effects of eating gluten (wheat protein). She told me the next day that she knows she ate something with gluten in it but she couldn't figure out what. I wracked my brain and couldn't figure it out either. Then at 3 AM in the early morning my brain started to function and I realized it was the breadcrumbs! I felt so bad I wanted to send her a text message right then and confess to her, but decided I better not wake her up. She laughed when I told her and she said jokingly she didn't think I would ever try to poison her!

Even though it was unintentional she was suffering the effects of my negligence. In the same way relationships tend to get messy, we say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing and people get offended or we get offended by the things that they say to us. We are not always walking in the spirit and we can unintentionally or intentionally hurt others. When God gave instructions to the Israelites he told them how to deal with wrongs, he said;

⁶ “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, ⁷ then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged.

When we sin against others we are sinning against God. And in the same token when we sin continually against others we are not truly loving God- something is broken with our relationship with him because when we love God and our relationship is first with him then we will be diligent in how we treat others. When Jesus was asked by a teacher what was the greatest commandment Jesus answered;
"Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." Mark 12:29-30

Jesus considers relationships so important that he said don't bother coming to me until you have made amends with one another.
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." Matt. 5:23-24

Notice it says "your brother has something against you?" If we know someone is upset with us we need to do everything we can do to make amends with them. Then if they reject this, then there is nothing else we can do but pray for them. If they are truly a brother they will forgive you because Jesus commands it. (Matt. 18:21-22)

And if you do have something against your brother it is also your responsibility to make amends.
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15



There should be no division in the body of Christ. When Jesus prayed for future believers he prayed this prayer;
 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.


22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know.

We have tasted in the goodness of God and we are witnesses to the world that God is love, this is our greatest testimony to an unbelieving, dying, cold world.
Blessings,