Relationships


     One of the big reasons people love church is the relationships that are formed. Unfortunately that’s also the reason many people hate church. Relationships can be difficult in church or anywhere else. We sometimes avoid going to certain places simply because of the people. He knows how difficult we can be. We all have our bad days.

     When you look at this list of seven things that God hates you’ll discover that they all deal with relationships. Our relationships are very important to God. How we treat others is the subject of six of the Ten Commandments. Jesus, when asked which was the greatest commandment, answered that to love God with all our being was the first and greatest. Then he went on to add what he was not asked about. He said the second was equally important.

     In other words the second greatest commandment was just as important as the first and these two cannot be separated because if you are doing the first one right then the second flows naturally out of it. The second greatest commandment was to love others as you love yourself. When people tell me they love God but hate church I cringe. They obviously do not understand that it is impossible to actually do that. You cannot hate people and claim to love God.

     You will never come across someone that Jesus did not love or die for. Just as a caution, remember that you can love someone but not agree with their actions. We are called to love all but we are not required to love what they do especially if it is harmful behavior to themselves or to others. It’s all about relationships.

    We can never truly love God until we start to love people the way he does whether at work, home, or church. It’s one of the impossibilities of life.

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