Thursday's Devotion

"Recycling Your Relationships"
By Andrew Sampson

We have been talking about how Jesus can change you completely. We have talked about how He can wipe away all the old that has held you down for so long, and He can bring about a new you. One very important way that Jesus can transform you is by changing your relationships with others.

We all have relationships with other people. Some of those relationships might be good, and some of those relationships might be bad. In all areas of our lives we are developing relationships: at school, at home, at work, at camp, at church, and now we can even put them all in one place… Facebook! Facebook is like iTunes for your friends. We are developing relationships with people every day.

So, if Jesus makes us a new person, changes the way we think, the way we serve, and the way we feel, then it only makes sense to me that Jesus is going to change the way we approach relationships.

I was reading my Bible the other day, and I came across this passage, and it completely changed the way I look at relationships. It was important for me to realize who I was in Christ Jesus, and what he did for me. When I realized who I am in Christ, I also realized my relationships with others had to change as well. I could no longer look at my fellow Christians and non-believing friends, the same way ever again.

READ: Ephesians 2
Christ unites all those who belong to Him, into one body. We are no longer individuals, selfishly doing what is best for ourselves. Instead, we are fellow members of the one body designed for a specific purpose.

READ: 1 Corinthians 12
This knowledge of my role in the body, has caused me to re-examine my relationship with non-believers as well. We are not to cut off ties with non-Christians, in fact we should probably desire for more relationships with non believers, but it changes the way I look these relationships. Before I knew Jesus, I would worry so much about what I looked like through the eyes of all my friends. I no longer worry about what they think of me, or if I fit in. I look at these relationships with urgency. I now desire they would come to know Jesus……..before it is too late. Knowing Jesus tends to put things in the right perspective. If we are truly transformed by Jesus, we will love those we come in contact with more, because we will see them through Jesus’ eyes.

We will mourn for those who don’t know Jesus. And we will prioritize what really matters to us in our lives...the one body!

Reflect on your relationships:

How has your relationship with Jesus changed the way you look at your relationships with others?

Pray for at least one person whom you regularly come in contact with, who does not know Jesus. Pray that Jesus will give you the strength to approach that person with the Good News of Jesus Christ.