Three boys from India

By Tom Shanklin

With the holiday season upon us once again I have been thinking a lot about relationships. In fact, on Thanksgiving Day, I woke up with that word on my heart—relationships, and during our Thanksgiving meal I shared a word of encouragement with my family concerning relationships.

If you think about it, all the blessings that we receive in life come through relationships, either with God or man. Family members, friends, business associates, clients, employers, employees—they are all part of the tapestry of our lives. Our happiness and fulfillment is dependent on the success of those relationships.

The Bible itself is a book of relationships, starting with God’s relationship with Adam, then the first marriage between Adam and Eve and the first family, including Cain who slew Abel and later asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer, of course is “Yes.” We do have a responsibility to care for one another and to nurture relationships with those around us.

Jesus was raised in a family with a mother and a father and siblings. As He began His ministry He reached out to people and became a friend and a mentor to them. He cultivated relationships with people, some of whom were the outcasts of society. He showed us how to be a true friend by loving and laying down His life for others.

He said, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:12-14, KJV. Jesus has already proven Himself to be a true friend to us. But when we obey His love law, we prove ourselves to be a friend to Him.

When Jesus was born at Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, God sent his angels with a message to the shepherds who were watching their flocks by night. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14, KJV. God sent His Son to restore broken relationships, and to bring wayward people back to Himself.

This really is the essence of the Gospel, that God in His love seeks to reconcile with those who are at odds with Him, those who have become separated by sin and rebellion. He made the first move, reaching out to us with His love, sacrificing His son on a cruel tree, that we might be re-united and healed in our relationship with Him. That is love in action!

So I encourage you today to place a great value on your relationships. Don’t give up so easily, tossing people away like refuge bound for the city landfill. Your relationships are a gift from God. Respect your relationships, honor them, cultivate them, invest in them, and you will see rich fruit that can only come through the heart of a loving Father who invested Himself greatly in us, that we might enjoy Him forever!