Jesus said to him,”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
This passage reminds us that we are relational beings. God invites us to have a relationship with him but also with our neighbour. Relationship with God is the key to good relationships with others. The more we trust in God, the more he will give us the strength to bear the wounds caused by our brothers and sisters.
Honestly, it is not easy to put up with the unpleasant behaviour of our colleagues, friends and family members. Our fleshly nature will drive us to return evil for evil, which is contrary to the thought of our loving God.
If we say we love God, we must love our neighbor. One key that can help us develop relationships with others is to never forget that human beings are fallible. Very often, the love of men fluctuates according to circumstances. This is not the case for the Lord. Peter denied our Lord three times and in no way did Jesus reject him. Yet the Lord had warned him.
Jesus cared too much about the relationship he had with Peter. His relationship was more important than his error. Don’t ruin the relationships you have taken so long to build because of a mistake. We are all fallible, and when we remember this, it helps us to forgive and continue to build good relationships even with those who have hurt us.
However, if you feel that the relationship is harmful, as the Bible urges us to do, stop it. Every healthy relationship is called to pull you up, not down. Either way, put God at the heart of your relationships. I am convinced that he will connect you with the right people!
Christian K
