Devotional
Devotional
Fostering Relationships Where People Belong and Experience Ongoing Personal Growth
By Mitch Davis
Church Value #3: Authentic relationships
This week, we are thinking about building authentic relationships. We’ve considered what it means to have a growing relationship with God. But how does that overflow into the relationships we form with those around us? There are lots of Bible passages that teach on this, but one of the really clear chapters is Hebrews 10. Please read the whole thing if you have time, but I’ll pick out a few key lines:
Verse 24: Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love
Verse 25: Don’t neglect meeting together… but encourage one another
What really stands out to me here is that God clearly intends our relationship with other believers to be very active. I don’t see room here to turn up at church on a Sunday, sing some songs, keep to ourselves and rush straight out the door, thinking this is enough to help us grow! The Christian walk involves some teamwork. We have a responsibility to be giving our emotional energy to those around us - building them up in faith, encouraging them, at times challenging them and pointing them back to God. We want to see our brothers and sisters grow closer to Jesus, and we have some responsibility to help them do that. This is a big and sometimes scary task, but it starts with building a genuine and caring relationship with those around us within the church. As a church, we need to show each other that we love each other, and care deeply about each other's spiritual wellbeing, because it has ramifications into eternity.
Now, it’s one thing to do this with our Christian friends, but with our non-Christian friends, we are often happy to forget these concerns. We choose to keep things comfortable, and just talk about the sport, or the weather, or whatever else is easy. But I think this mentality forgets the core of the gospel: By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 10:20)
Jesus has made a way for all people to know God, and be saved from the price of our sin. If we believe this, if we understand that the deepest need of any person is to know Christ as their saviour, then in all of our relationships, we should seek to be helping move people towards a deeper relationship with Jesus.
An authentic relationship is one that cares deeply for the soul and eternal state of the other person. May this deep spiritual love permeate all our interactions this week.
Verse 24: Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love
Verse 25: Don’t neglect meeting together… but encourage one another
What really stands out to me here is that God clearly intends our relationship with other believers to be very active. I don’t see room here to turn up at church on a Sunday, sing some songs, keep to ourselves and rush straight out the door, thinking this is enough to help us grow! The Christian walk involves some teamwork. We have a responsibility to be giving our emotional energy to those around us - building them up in faith, encouraging them, at times challenging them and pointing them back to God. We want to see our brothers and sisters grow closer to Jesus, and we have some responsibility to help them do that. This is a big and sometimes scary task, but it starts with building a genuine and caring relationship with those around us within the church. As a church, we need to show each other that we love each other, and care deeply about each other's spiritual wellbeing, because it has ramifications into eternity.
Now, it’s one thing to do this with our Christian friends, but with our non-Christian friends, we are often happy to forget these concerns. We choose to keep things comfortable, and just talk about the sport, or the weather, or whatever else is easy. But I think this mentality forgets the core of the gospel: By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 10:20)
Jesus has made a way for all people to know God, and be saved from the price of our sin. If we believe this, if we understand that the deepest need of any person is to know Christ as their saviour, then in all of our relationships, we should seek to be helping move people towards a deeper relationship with Jesus.
An authentic relationship is one that cares deeply for the soul and eternal state of the other person. May this deep spiritual love permeate all our interactions this week.
Posted in Devotional