If you’ll suffer with me as I attempt to define and describe for you what has seemingly become the undefinable and the indescribable that is….. ‘RELATIONSHIP. Nothing tangible, sometimes not even our health, is left when we’ve lost everything. Relationships are all we have left.
What is the purpose of life if not a relationship?
What is the source of someone’s life’s significance? What is the ultimate purpose of our life on this planet? Our “commitment” to relationship, first with God and then with one another, is the essence of our existence and what gives it purpose. The expression “God IS Love” implies that love is at the heart of God’s nature at the most fundamental level.
God has made a commitment to be in connection with us. The ability to experience THE LOVE OF GOD is again a function of our relationship with God and our interactions with one another. As a result, the cross is formed through Godly relationships that are first vertical (with God) and then horizontal (with others), which literally forms a cross. Because of this, every relationship is a sacrifice.
Relationships are more than feelings
Fear and uncertainty are so severe emotional concerns because they imply a sense of rejection, and rejection implies the sense of being “separated” from God’s Love, which is a very painful experience. We become accustomed to rejection and broken relationships as we grow in adulthood when we strive to develop relationships exclusively on the basis of those feelings rather than the love of God. Consequently, by the time we are adults, all we have known is suffering and devastation as a result of our experiences with love and relationships.
When hell breaks loose
It is then that we begin to seek for another human being to heal us (marriage/relationship) rather than being transformed into a new creature in Christ that a systemic problem begins. We marry or connect (hook-up) with another ‘broken’ person, putting them in the place of God and expecting them to cure what’s broken in us, and all hell breaks loose as a result of this connection.
How does one broken person help another broken person?
Well, if the purpose of life is to live in “proper” relationship with God and with one another, then there must first be a commitment to remain in that relationship until the repair is done. And that commitment must include the following elements:
‘But Ruth insisted that she not be forced to leave you or to return home. Wherever you go, I’ll go with you; and wherever you live, I’ll live with you. It is your people and your God who are mine; where you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to stand in the way of our union!”
Commitment is not a curse word
The underlying reason that many couples fail to make it through the mending process is that they lack the necessary level of commitment. This level of dedication results in the formation of a bond that supernaturally binds individuals together. This connection is what generates the trust and nurture that are required for God to complete the repair process. “Relationship” is the “bond” that connects individuals in a way that fosters peace and trust.
Negotiating will not improve your relationship
Relationships cannot be nurtured through bargaining or bargaining tactics. Relationships are strained during negotiations. In a negotiation, each side makes the smallest feasible concession and then waits for the next round in the hopes of receiving more and making a smaller concession. Negotiation produces rivalry rather than peace and collaboration.
Negotiation produces rivalry rather than peace and collaboration. It creates adversaries rather than friendships, as the name implies. When negotiating, one must assert one’s authority. Being vulnerable during a negotiation is a negative business decision. Relationships based on commitment and God’s love, on the other hand, result in HIS love and forgiveness. Someone has to be vulnerable in this type of relationship, to take the initiative from a position of weakness, to give in, and to be willing to lose. Which, by the way, is repulsive to our egos.
It is not possible to have a committed, Godly relationship on the basis of a 50/50 approach. Someone has to be willing to go the distance and submit completely. A tranquil, constructive, and positive Godly relationship is incomparably more important than anything else. Love and forgiveness are difficult to come by, yet they are necessary for maintaining healthy and successful relationship. That is why it is so simple to talk about peace while at the same time difficult to achieve genuine peace.
Peace takers versus peacemakers
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in his quest of peace, whereas the ‘Prince of Peace’ gave His life to bring about peace in the world. Consequently, when you commit to being a peacemaker in your relationships, you will have to make significant sacrifices.
