“Our relationship with God hinges on our relationship with other people

“Our relationship with God hinges on our relationship with other people—the two are inseparable.”

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-08-22) from his book, It Came from Within!: The Shocking Truth of What Lurks in the Heart (p. 115). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

This whole matter of relationships with others is so important because it affects our relationship with God. Andy also says, “The truth is, you cannot resolve your differences with God if you are unwilling to resolve your differences with the people around you.” Jesus made this clear when He said in Matthew 6:15 (NIV), “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Relationships are so very important. In some situations you may need some outside help. There are people who have the ability to deal with conflict. For men this many times is a problem. They aren’t even honest with themselves that there is a problem so how in the world could they be honest with someone else. They aren’t even honest with their wives or or their parents or their kids or that person at work or that friend so how could they tell their pastor or a counselor that they need help. But that is where we start. “I’ve got a problem.” There are some messy problems in relationships where you need an outside person to lead you through to the solution.

The key is that problem with your spouse or whoever can affect your relationship with God. So deal with it. Even if the other person doesn’t want to deal with it you still must take care of the part that you play in the problem and then leave the other person in God’s hands. Strive to do all you can to resolve the problem. There are some things that you need to confess to the other person and then to God. That is your responsibility. And then you must forgive them even if they don’t ask for it.

Relationships are tough but they are soooo worth it. Don’t let your pride keep you from resolving the problems that come from the fact that we are imperfect people. God built us to have relationships with others and with Him. Keep at it and deal with the differences through love, grace and honesty. Again, it is so worth it!!

So how is it going?

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