Christian Living

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RELATIONSHIPS: ARE THEY WORTH IT?

You bet! God brings us in contact with people for seasons of time, some for very brief periods and others for longer periods. The book of Ecclesiastes so aptly declares that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the sun. But you may ask the question, what is the purpose of relationships that doesn’t last? Does it help us to fulfill our destiny on earth and for eternity? Or what benefit does it have in my life?

God created each one of us for a purpose; He imparts to us gifts and abilities that are necessary to fulfill that purpose. But those gifts and abilities have to be tempered and molded according to His design and not according to our plans, and we become like clay on the wheel of a potter. We can choose to allow God to fashion us according to His original design, or we can choose to use the gifts and abilities that He has imparted to us, according to the dictates of our minds.

Everyone that comes into our life is like the potter; if we allow them to be, or if we allow God to use us! It is all for our benefit. But you may now ask the question, what of those relationships that are seemingly destructive and produces death instead of life? This is where we choose, this is where we decide; to allow God to work in our lives to melt, mold and fashion us according to His design, or to allow God to work through our lives to be used like a potter in the life of another person. It is all part of the process of life! This is the ultimate purpose of any relationship.

Relationships can be either HOT and FRESH, or COLD and STALE, it is our choice! We can choose to allow hurt, pain and circumstances to keep us in bondage to the past, or we can choose to allow God’s forgiveness, grace, mercy and compassion; to bring healing and restoration into our life and the lives of others. Every hot and fresh relationship will last and have the greatest chance of success, as these relationships are controlled and molded by the Spirit of God within us to do good, but every cold and stale relationship will fail, as these relationships are more controlled by our flesh and natural desires.

A HOT relationship is:
H - HONEST
O - OPEN
T - TRUTHFUL

I am sure this is not what you had a mind when you first read that relationships must be HOT, but this is the type of relationship that God had in mind when He created Adam and Eve, nothing separated them from one another and from Him.

Every successful relationship will be FRESH:

F - FORGIVING
R - RESPECTFUL
E - ENCOURAGING
S - SELFLESS
H - HONORING

In today’s society, being FRESH conveys a totally different concept from the original intentions of the word. Fresh as in new, clean, wholesome, warm and refreshing; this was God’s original intention, for His creation to live in peace and harmony with each other. To put salve on the wounds and ointment to the scars!

A COLD relationship is:

C - CLOSED
O - OVERBEARING
L - LYING
D - DECEPTIVE

I am sure this gives you a whole different concept of the word COLD; it separates us from God and from one another. This was Satan’s original design for us and it is the total antithesis of God’s design.

Every failed relationship would be STALE:

S - SELFISH
T - THOUGHTLESS
A - ANGRY
L - LUSTFUL
E - EMPOWERING

Any cold relationship will end up being STALE, and conveys the meaning of being boring, tired and gone off! But it also has the implications of causing our hearts to become worn-out and hard towards God’s love; which ultimately affects our purpose and destiny in life.

I will leave you with these questions, what type of relationships do you want? What type of relationships are you going to build? Are you going to allow God to fashion and shape you according to His design? And are you going to allow God to use you as a potter in another person’s life?

www.youhaveadestiny.com

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