Carina Francke

Good and healthy relationships form the foundation of God's plan for creation. From birth to death we live entangled in relationships. Stemming from a relationship with Him (which, by the way, He initiated) we are firstly man to Him but simultaneously also man to one another.

Healthy relationships require from us to firstly love the one and only God, the Lord who is one, with every fiber of our being. However, equal in value and importance, is the love we should have for people (our "neighbour") - a love that equals the way we love ourselves (Mark 12:29-31).

Jesus sets the example: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." (John 5:19). Then He says to his disciples, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). He proofs to them that they are his friends, "For everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15).

Not everyone we meet become our friends, but contact with people necessitates relationships at all levels. Working together with colleagues implies a working relationship (hopefully a good one); businesses flourish when good relationships exists between owners, clients and suppliers; the cashier at the supermarket is a momentary transactional relationship. Then there is the family ‑ not all of them are necessarily your friends but people you tend to treat in a special manner.

Despite the kind of relationships we are involved in, every confessing believer have the responsibility to obey what the Word teaches us, "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:17,18).

Ted Haggard summarizes this truth very skillfully in his book, The Life Giving Church, "Anything that God does in our lives, is unproven until it is tested in relationships."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is truly life to live in a relationship with you - thank you for this God-given privilege. Speak into my spirit when firm alignment of my actions is needed and grant me the grace to demonstrate your love and involvement in my life to other people.

Amen