Thursday: Interactions
The Bible is a book of relationships. God created us to be in relationship with others. Indeed, very few of us live in complete isolation. For starters, none of us could even come into existence but for others. Even after birth, we need others to take care of us, at least until a certain age when, in principle at least, we could exist on our own.
Image © Bjorn Thorkelson from GoodSalt.com
And even if we could, who would want to? Most of us need and crave the company and companionship of other human beings. Though pets, such as dogs, can be delightful companions, in the end the deepest and most meaningful and life-changing interactions come from other people. No wonder, then, that the family, and family relationships, are so crucial to our existence.
Because most of us do interact, often all the time, with others, these interactions can and often do impact the changes and rhythms of our lives. It works two ways, though: others, in their interactions with us, impact our lives. We, meanwhile, in our interactions with others can impact their lives. And whether we realize it or not (and many times we don’t), those interactions, in either direction, can be either for good or for evil. How crucial then for us to be proactive, at all times, so that our inevitable influence on others is always for the good, especially those with whom we are closest, which is usually our own family members.
Read the following texts. What do they tell us to do in our interactions with others? Rom. 15:7; Eph. 4:2, Eph. 4:32; 1 Thess. 3:12; James 5:16.
In many ways, the principle is simple. If we act nicely, kindly, and compassionately toward others, we will be a positive influence upon them, even to the point where we could change their lives in a very positive way. Just as Jesus changes people’s lives in a very positive manner, what a privilege for us to do something similar for others, as well. Again, we must remember: our influence is going to be either for good or for bad, even in subtle ways. And nowhere is this influence, subtle or not, more pronounced than in our families.
| Look at the two following statements of Jesus: Luke 11:34 and Mark 4:24-25. What are they saying about the importance of how we interact with others? |
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The idea that we ought to get on with one another permeates the whole Bible:
Moses said it:
In the New Testament, there are nineteen references to loving one another. Here is a sampling of them.
Jesus commanded:
Paul reiterated:
And John expanded:
The message is clear, that we ought to love one another and is another way of saying that we should work on our relationships with one another. It has been said that we love God as much as we love the person we love the least. That is a very hard saying. Does that mean we have to get on with everyone? I don’t think so. There are some people who deliberately set out to annoy and irritate and often the best way of loving them is to keep out of their road. But we can still treat them with respect. Their attitude is their problem, not ours.
Maurice,
Great post and thank you for the message to us.
You said, "we ought to love one another and this is another way of saying that we should work on our relationships with one another."
Yes, I am finally in a church that will actually work on relationships. After 38 years of being a Christian, I have found some people to worship with, fellowship with and enjoy life with. What a good change for me and for the others.
And you have given me a great start for a sermon. Thank you!
Jane, I am so happy to hear that you are in a good place. I pray that God continues to bless you in your journey.
See you when we make it Home.
Great to share with you on this platform, interaction is actually placed at an inner core of our life, let's embrace it on positive way to actualise the spread of the Gospel of Christ.
We love God as much as we love the person we love least. That hit deep!
The gospel is majorly spread through interaction,this doesn't mean by word of mouth only,it's the entire me us a christian.i.e what i eat,drink,dress,share.we are to be books of good content.such that when read the message is driven home.
Yeah I agree with you Maurice, its like its our responsibility to look out for persons around us and ensure we are reflecting the right image to then!
If I may request of you guys , a prayer for me and my home church here in Guyana. We need this for each other a better relationship with each through Christ
Thank you.
In the US and I suspect throughout the world there is a strong sentiment to define “us” and “them”; our tribe or not our tribe, our party or the other party. People are demeaned for different beliefs with, of course, ours being “the right one”. Among Christians this is just as apparent as among non Christians with the added twist that “God is on our side”. If people don’t believe as we do or have different habits or lifestyles than we do they are excluded from our fellowship. It seems to me we are more concerned about God’s reputation than He is. Just compare your local church response to that of Jesus to these groups :
(1) immigrants
(2) people with dependencies such as drug addiction, alcohol, smoking, etc
(3) people with different sexual orientation
I could add more, but the point is made. Would they be welcomed and invited to potluck and be made to feel comfortable and not judged by us in the church or would we want them to clean up or straighten up or .... Would Jesus be proud of us for not “lowering the standards” and loving these people whose reputation would bring “dishonor to His name” OR would Jesus be the first to welcome them viewing them as a cherished child?
I have occasionally has the opportunity to preach a sermon on Mary Madgelene where Jesus tells her to quit saying she was a follower of his until she cleaned up her act because it was hurting God’s reputation to have people associate her with him. That series of texts is not in your Bible for good reason. God sees the lovable person in everyone. He has never discouraged and never turned anyone away. “Anyone who comes to me I will never cast out.” John 6:37.
At the end of time God’s remnant will be composed of people who love Him supremely as demonstrated by their love for those not loved and accepted by others. Jesus calls for that radical love and down deep all of us know how much Jesus has forgiven and accepted us. We demonstrate that we have conveniently forgotten this when we see people as “us” versus “them” as worth less than us.
I hope all of you have had the chance to experience the grace of others loving you when you were the “prodigal” and more importantly remember it so clearly that you can extend that grace to others in the interactions of life.
Wouldn’t be the greatest testament of Christ’ love if our church was known as the place to go when people have problems and didn’t know where to turn. We would be known as the hands and hearts of Jesus!
Perhaps one day that will be our reputation. I pray so.
God bless
Beautifully written. I agree sir with what you are saying. If people do not start getting the message that we MUST LOVE one another in order to become Christ like they will be lost. There is NO room for Hate in a child of God.
Sadly, some have been so broken and deeply hurt by the bad interactions with other human beings, that companionship of pets is of more importance and fulfilling than human relationships. Some have found pets their meaning in life. Such need the meaningful and healing relationships that Christianity is set about to accomplish. They need to know the heavenly Father that will never let them down, abuse or harm them in anyway. A long term task, with no short term cuts.