Solid Relationships
The year was 2005 and I was in Jackson, TN. There was a teenager girl named Jamie and she came from a solid family and a strong spiritual family. She had been dating a young man named David for a year or so. But David was not a believer and he would come a few times over that year period. One Wed Night similar to one of my normal Wed Nights that I have during the school year I was preaching on Colossians 3:12-17. David came over to me and handed me a 4 page letter. The man was a great writer. I am not a big fan of surprises and such. I put it in my backpack and when the students had left the worship service, I ran to my office and read the letter he had written to me. I knew that it was a big letter because his Girlfriend Jamie had given me like a nod or such with a tear in her eye.
I took the letter and read it through twice. David wrote a lot of information to me and I will share those highlights now, but I went and laminated this letter and still keep it in my office. Here is the highlights of the letter:
Scott I always respected you but I hated when you asked me if I had a relationship with Jesus
When you preached I felt like I need to change things but didn't know what to change
You asked me last week if I was saved and I said no.
You treated me the same and respected me. You never judged me
I wanted you to know that I have given my life to Christ tonight. Thank you for not giving up on me this past year
Why do I share David’s story with you. Because I believe there are two relationships in our life that we need have SOLID:
Our Relationship with God
Our Relationship with Others.
I think we need to have this saying stuck in our minds, “LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.” A simple idea and a simple point, but will be the hardest thing we have talked about this week in our final blog in the solid series.
I love hanging out with people. Like I get more energy the more people there are around me. But I have discovered that you and I have different relationships with people. Here are the types of relationships I have found that we have:
God
Friendships
Dating
Social Media
Tech/Gaming world
School
Family
In which of these relationships does the person really know you? Which one knows the real you? I believe that no one knows me unless they have had coffee or a meal with me. Why because I am a messy eater. No, but that is true. Because when we sit down at a meal we aren’t talking about sacrificial items long. We talk about real stuff over a longer period.
I have discovered that many Christian Teenagers do not let there friends know that they are a Christian and they blend in (do not take a stand) because they do not want their friends to know that part of their life. I believe that is a huge issue among teenagers.
How can we have stronger relationships and help other followers of Christ have a Stronger Relationships.
Love God first. I am unable to love people if I first have not met and been with God. If we are honest we are not able to live out Colossians 3:12-17 and Mark 12:29-31 if we have not first met with God and been soaking in His love for us.
Love People before me. I know that this statement is not politically correct, but the reality is that we must love others before we love ourselves.
I believe that when we execute these forms of love it will change our life and help us to have SOLID RELATIONSHIPS.
