Set The Standard - Part 1: Relationships

We were made to  be in relationship not just with God, but with those around us. These relationships 
can take many forms, but regardless of the types of relationships we have, we must always set the standard.

John 13:34-35 states that we will be known by the love we show to each other, not how holy we appear to be or how many times a day we pray. Then there is also Matt 5:21-26, if another believer has offended us, we shouldn't hold on to anger against them.

How can we say we love each other if there is anger between us? Issues should be dealt with before they lead to a break in relationship.
We need to stop gossiping, judging, and discouraging each other. Instead, we should lift each other up, help those who have issue with habitual sin, learn to be discrete with what we are told by others.
If we don't show love to those we call our brothers and sisters, why would an unbeliever think we would treat them any better. They should see our love and want to experience the same thing. 

As well as showing love to each other, we have been called to show love to our enemies, Matt 5:44-48. Jesus gave us an example of this when he forgave those who were crucifying him. How can we claim to be different or better than those in the world if we don't show forgiveness to others, or love those who do wrong to us. Showing love to someone who has wronged us doesn't mean that we let them get away with what they've done or allow them to take advantage of us. It just means we don't allow their behaviour to effect how we treat them.We should always attempt to show everyone the love of God.

Matt 5:31-32, it seems that divorce is something that is taking place more in the church than it is in world. We tell the world that marriage is important and pride ourselves on making such a commitment in the presence of God. But how does it look to unbelievers when yet another believer is getting divorced? How do we make them see the value of marriage when we can't maintain one?

There are some situations were divorce may be necessary for the safety of one of the parties, or if one person decides to leave. However, when the world sees someone in the church on their 3rd or 4th marriage, how does it look? When ministers get divorced and have a public battle over who did what, how does it look? Unbelievers think that there is no point in marriage because it is just a piece or paper.

Marriage is so much more than this, it is a covenant we make with another person. We declare in the presence of others that wen want to commit ourselves to this one person for the rest of our lives. 

It's up to us to show this to the world. When things go wrong, you work on it, if one person falls short, you forgive them. Marriage is something we should hold dearly in our hearts and fight to keep.

Join us next week when we look at how to set the standard in our behaviour. Until then, how else do you think we can set the standard in our relationships?