BETTER RELATIONSHIPS

A few years ago during the worst part of the pandemic, we were staying home and isolating like we were supposed to, and that took a huge toll on so many people. In prison, solitary confinement is a punishment because it is painful. Human beings are not meant to be alone. God said this in the second chapter of the Bible.

We were made for relationships. Primarily we were made to be in relationship with God, and we were designed to be in relationship with other people. The problem is that we also struggle with relationships. The world offers lots of ways to get better relationships, and many of those ways work to some degree. However, as a Christian, and as a pastor, I want to know what the Bible says about relationships.

One of the greatest passages on relationships is 1^st Corinthians 13. This passage is read at many weddings. Way too many people find some sort of framed artwork with this chapter and give it to couples as a wedding gift. This is not a bad thing, however, this chapter in the Bible was not written to be about the love of a husband and a wife. In the context of the book of 1 Corinthians this is about how we treat each other within the church. Chapter 12 talks about the different gifts of each person in the church and how they work together. Chapter 12 ends with the various ministries of apostles, prophets, and teachers. Then chapter 13 tells us we need to love one another as we work together as a church.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.”

The Bible tells us that our words, our knowledge, our understanding, and even our faith do not mean anything if we do not love one another. In my relatively new role as a superintendent, I am learning on-the-job. I do not claim to know everything about this role, but what I do know is that we are a conference of churches, and we are in a connectional system of pastors and churches working together. This means that we do ministry in relationship with each other. For the next several weeks this blog will focus on God's way to have better relationships. Without relationships we are not able to effectively do God’s will. This is true in a conference of churches, in a local church, and in a family. So, in our speech, will we speak in love to one another?