?Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.?? -Exodus 20:12????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?If one falls down, his friend can help him up.? ?-Ecclesiastes 4:10??????????????????????????????????????
?The Lord God said, ?It is not good for man to be alone.? I will make a helper suitable for him.?? -Genesis 2:18
????? These verses may seem like an overload for you today, but I wanted to find something from the Word that spoke to the most common relationships in the human experience.? Most of us have a mom and dad or a parental figure in our life, so commandment number five is relevant to each one.? Most everyone has at least one friend, so the verse from Solomon?s reflections on his life seemed to fit our discussion.? And, many who desire to do so will get married, meaning the relationship between husband and spouse should be considered.? Parents, children, friends, and spouses are the foundational relationships in our lives and the Holy Spirit uses each of them to grow us into Christ-likeness.
????? In the listing of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on the mountain, the command for relationship with one?s parents is sandwiched in between four initial commandments for relating to God and five commandments for getting along with one?s fellow man.? This is likely an intentional placement since the proper place for learning both worship of God and relationship with others is the home.?
????? I was doubly blessed to grow up in a Christian home.? I learned to pray, sing worship songs, read the Bible, and love the church at a very young age (even though I got a spanking almost every week for acting up in church).? My mom and dad laid a firm foundation of faith for my life.? I also learned at home about getting along with others: how to share, submitting to authority, working together, punishment for wrongdoing, loving intimately, laughing, fellowship, and communication to name a few. The Holy Spirit definitely grew me through the lives of Bob, Susie, Angie, and Steve.? The journey we took together growing up just seemed like normal to me, but the Spirit of God arranged the setting and the lessons learned along the way.
????? Before I go on, I can just imagine some of you making the proverbial finger-in-mouth gagging sign.? Truth is, for many people the idea of mom or dad or home is simply not pleasant.? Some have had childhoods which are littered with bitter, even abusive and scary memories.? In fact, if you consider anyone to have the perfect family (including mine) you are mistaken.? Our family experienced arrest, betrayal, poverty, and separation in our most challenging moments.? But the Spirit even used those things to form who I am in Christ Jesus.? I don?t think God wants us to stay in abusive situations and I don?t think an adult child has to pretend like everything was fine growing up.? I do think that even the worst of situations can be redeemed by the Holy Spirit to make us more like the Christ-followers we want to become.
????? God, the Spirit also uses friendships to shape, mold, and sharpen us.? Like the wisdom writing says above, friends are really great to have in hard times, but they?re good for so much more.? A friend can encourage you when you lose the little league championship game, understand you when no one else seems to know how you feel, help you when the storms of life blow your chimney off the roof of your house (true story?thanks Al!), laugh at your silly jokes, and shoot straight with you when they think you are wrong.? Friends help form us into the people we are.?
????? Growing up my friend Mike helped me find humor in things and my friend Tommy helped me walk with Christ.? My friend Cal has helped me make major ministry and leadership decisions and my friend John has helped me become a better man of God.? My friends Stephanie and Al allow me to be who I am and the friends I work with on staff at church encourage me and help me grow.? Again, if this sounds like a utopic Mr. Rogers gone wild, you?re not getting the full picture.? I?ve had some friends who were not good influences or hurtfully turned on me in the end.? These were not pleasant experiences, but the point is that somehow, the Holy Spirit is at work in all my friendships, harvesting what He can for His good purposes in my spiritual life.
????? The most intense friendship relationship there is comes between husband and wife.? God did not like that His created man, Adam, was alone and he had the perfect remedy.? He created woman and in so doing established the most life-altering union humans can experience together.? Spouses are united in every way possible spanning the full scope of human experience.? Marriage is physical, mental (some more mental than others), spiritual, and emotional.? To be married is to share in the most intimate way and the Spirit is at work in this community where two become one to spiritually form both.? Again, I have been blessed with a great wife who has made me a better man by far.? Somehow, the Holy Spirit has used her to keep me balanced, in check, accountable, and free to be myself.
????? I am not unaware of the growing fragmentation of this wonderful relationship in our culture and how easily people opt for divorce.? However, in all these years of ministry I have never met a couple who did not at least experience some of their greatest moments and growth in this God-ordained relationship.? Many realize later in life that it was the immaturity and selfishness of both parties that led to the divorce in the first place.? Even though the Holy Spirit does not like divorce, He even uses that experience to grow each as they place their faith in Christ.? There are of course, marriages that continue to limp along in an unhealthy state.? The Holy Spirit can often do His best work through Christian counselors and therapists.? At any rate, the Spirit?s passion for unity directs His power towards restoration and renewal in all marriages.
????? This is a small sampling of relationships in our lives, but they are the basic ones for us all.? Some relationships we choose and others are chosen for us but we can be sure that the Spirit uses them all to help us grow.? Since relationships ultimately shape so much of our personalities, our attitudes, and our views on God; the Holy Spirit works through them to accomplish God?s will.? It may be helpful today to ask what relationships have most formed your life (for good or bad) and how you think the Spirit has helped you mature spiritually through them.?
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Source: http://www.eastviewchurch.net/walk-daily-devo/week-two-day-three-through-the-means-of-relationships/
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