Levels of Relationship
“So embrace, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a spirit of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering. Bear with one another and forgive one another. If anyone has a quarrel against anyone, even as Christ forgave you, so you must do. And above all these things, embrace love, which is the bond of perfection.” Colossians 3:12-14 (MEV)
I’d like to discuss three levels of relationship in the next few days. They are as follows: relationship with a friend, relationship with a spouse, and relationship with God. I think we can agree that these are certainly three different levels of relationship with three levels of intimacy. The Scripture quoted above gives good instructions from Paul for any relationship. Mercy should always be a part of any relationship we have with anyone, but especially with a friend or spouse. If we cannot show mercy to these two, the relationship will probably not last or will, at best, be an awkward one. I believe that Paul is calling us to be kind to all we meet, and we should. It is difficult to have a relationship with a friend or spouse if we can’t be kind. Kindness is often the way in which a relationship begins. Humbleness of mind and meekness speak to the way in which we value others. They show that we value the person and respect and appreciate his/her comments and wisdom. Aren’t we likely to accept someone as a friend who values our opinions? And we must value a spouse as someone with solid opinions and wisdom. If we don’t value the opinions of a spouse, that person will soon realize that he or she does not have our respect, and the marriage is in trouble. Sometimes a friend or spouse will do something that bothers us and may have difficulty in changing that behavior. To be a good friend or spouse, we need to be patient. If we cannot bear with someone or forgive him/her, the friendship or marriage is not likely to last.
We are reminded that we have been forgiven by God for ALL of our sins, and that we must be forgiving of others as Christ has been of us. And finally, we are told to “embrace love which is the bond of perfection.” Love provides for the perfect bond of friendship or marriage. Love is also the perfection of our relationship with God.
With this as a basis, I would like to explore the similarities and important differences among the three relationships—friend, spouse, and God--over the next several sessions.
Praise and Worship
“Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD saying: ‘For He is good. For His mercy endures forever,’ that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.” 2 Chronicles 5:13,14( NKJV)
Does that happen in our churches today? Well, I haven’t seen the building filled with a cloud so thick that we couldn’t continue singing praises to God, but I have felt the presence of the Lord during worship and praise. Should we expect clouds sent by God to fill our churches today? God doesn’t seem to manifest His presence in such a dramatic way now. Could He manifest His presence in that manner today? He certainly can, and I want to be there when He does it, don’t you?
The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 22:3, “But you are holy, O You who inhabits the praises of Israel.” Okay, God inhabits our praises. Then, should I expect some special feeling when I praise Him? Maybe, but what if I don’t? How do I know that God is present? Now it has become a matter of faith and trust. The Word tells us that He inhabits our praise. So we know that He does even when we praise Him quietly.
I do know that when I am feeling low or discouraged, if I will praise Him and worship Him for more than just a few minutes, my spirits will begin to rise. And if I am willing to spend an extended time in thinking about the love and mercy of my Lord, my praise becomes heartfelt. He loves to hear my praise and worship, and I get a feeling of satisfaction and joy to know that I bring joy to my Lord. So I can say that according to Scripture, God inhabits my praise every time I praise Him, and I know in my heart that I bring Him joy. If that doesn’t lift my spirits, I don’t know what will. I may have never seen my church building filled by a thick cloud sent by God, but I do “Have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” And it’s down in my heart to stay.
Sitting on the Back Porch
Psalm 28:8“The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.”
1 John 2:27 “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”
I sat on the swing on our back porch with my back to the sun. Although the temperature gauge said it was cool, I felt warm because of the sun’s rays upon my back. You might say I was basking in the sun. A slight breeze came up. Although it was cool, it didn’t take away the warmth of the sun.
It behooves me to bask in the Son. His warmth is more sure than the warmth of the sun. I can liken the breeze I felt on the porch with a temptation or nudge from satan. I must decide whether I am going to allow satan’s nudges to remove the warmth of the Son. Even though I may notice satan’s nudges, I don’t let them replace or even dim the warmth of the son.
Within the warmth from the Son is His anointing. Yes, there is an anointing on my life. There is also an anointing on your life. God has something for you to do, and He has something for me to do, and when He does, He provides the anointing. Even when I think that I am not qualified, He assigns me the task. He will not send me on a mission for which I am not prepared, with no anointing. When I feel I am not prepared, I can expect to enter a time of learning so that I will have the necessary skills and abilities to carry out the task. In other words, He will prepare me as He anoints me for the mission. Remember, God never does anything second rate, so we can be confident in the work assigned. He may assign a task but not release us to perform the task until we have been prepared. Then, He gives us the anointing to carry it out. Some tasks are short term that can be completed in a day or even an hour, and other tasks may last a lifetime. In any case, we can know that God has work for us to do, and that He will bless us with whatever tools we need to accomplish it. We can also know that He expects us to complete the work to the best of our abilities—those gifts (abilities) with which He has anointed us. So the next time you feel the warmth from the sun, think of the warmth of the anointing of God.
It's Still Thanksgiviing
“Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer, and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (NET).
Well, thanksgiving is over. NO, IT IS NOT! We are told to give thanks in every situation. Thanksgiving is to be included in our prayers and requests. And when we do include thanksgiving, we will be given the peace of God. The verse doesn’t say that we will get what we pray for, but that we will have peace. It’s interesting that the verse says that God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds. We need God’s peace to protect us from the barbs of satan. His barbs are constant, but we can always remind him that he is a defeated foe—defeated by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We just need to use the victory that Christ bought for us and brought to us.
So when are we to be thankful? We are to be thankful in every situation, and that includes the little and the really big problems. That also means that we should be thankful when things are going well. Yes, we owe thankfulness and appreciation to God every minute of every day because He has given us everything from the oxygen we breathe to the promise of eternal life with Him.
The people we thanked this past week are still doing those things we thanked them for, and we need to continue to express our thanks to them throughout the year. It’s a long time between thanksgivings if we wait until late November to thank the people who make our lives comfortable, safe, and enjoyable. So let’s celebrate thanksgiving all year.
Give Thanks to the Lord
“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV)
I thank the Lord greatly for one of His best gifts to the human race, the family.
Thanksgiving at Grandma’s House (circa 1965)
“Family is important. Love them. All the time!”
I awoke one morning with the preceding three thoughts ringing in my head, and I thought, “Wow, what a great idea for a devotional.” As I prayed about it, I came to understand that this is the complete devotional as God wants it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
(P.S. Norma's father had to work.)
