From beginning to end the Bible is a book about relationships—we read the stories of how they went adrift and then learn how they can be fixed and restored.
Human relationship problems began with the first family in the Bible and can be seen through both the old and the new testaments where we find Paul trying to straighten out broken relationships in his letters. Such trouble and breakdowns have continued from there down to our own current time of disjointed personal relationships. When we read all of these Biblical examples of troubled relations, why would we be surprised when our own are problematic?
Relationships are so important in life and we must learn how to build, fix and restore them. Nothing typifies our modern age more than broken and dysfunctional relationships. Today we see an epidemic of broken homes and relationships in our world. People don’t trust each other anymore. Relationships have lost their permanence.
Lifelong marriages have ceased to be the accepted norm as we see repeated patterns of divorce and remarriage.
This is not God’s plan for human relationships. What has happened? What caused this outbreak of troubled relations and broken bonds? The diagnosis of this widespread condition is a chronic disregard for the Biblical principles God gave us in the Bible. When people no longer view God’s Word as the final authority, standards and relational boundaries become vague and when people cannot accept and follow the same values, society becomes askew.
God knew that He would have to give us Biblical principles to follow so we will not experience chaos in our relationships. Before we begin correcting and rebuilding our human relationships, we must set a foundation from the Word of God.
Building Better Relationships
- A right relationship with the Lord must come first.
Without a union and closeness with God, all other relationships will be unstable. My relationship with Him is the true foundation upon which all others are built. There are two types of relationships: vertical and horizontal. My relationship with God is vertical and all other relationships are horizontal and built upon it.
- This relationship begins when I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior.
This is so simple, yet absolutely mandatory in order to have great relationships in life.
Accepting Christ means that I understand that I am a sinner and that there is a result of my sin – death and punishment in hell. (Romans 3:10, 23 & 6:23) However, God loved me so much that He sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice and substitute for me. (John 3:16) He paid for my sins by dying and was then buried and rose again from the dead on the third day. He has already paid the price and offers Himself as my substitute. All I must do is accept His free gift of salvation from the punishment. (Romans 10:10-13) This happens when I pray and ask God to forgive me for being a sinner and ask Him to be my personal Savior and trust Him completely as my only way to be reconciled with God. (John 1:12) When I accept Christ, I am then “born again” into God’s family. This changes my relationship with God. I become His child and a recipient of His eternal love and grace. This is the true foundation upon which all other relationships are based.
- Once my relationship with God begins, I can then proceed in reconciliation with other human beings.
My salvation changes everything. Now, as I work towards building better relationships with my mate, friends, my children, my employer, fellow Christians and others – I know I have the resources needed to fix the problems and create improved closeness. From my relationship with my Creator, true hope springs forth for all other relationships.
- Since God is love, I can then know how to truly love others.
God’s love gives me the pattern of love. The principles of the Bible then guide me to make my relationships what they should be. The Bible says in I John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
- When I choose to follow God’s truths from the Bible, I am then ready to build better relationships.
Are you longing for reconciliation with a loved one? Do you face brokenness in your marriage that you long to see repaired? Have walls been built between you and someone in your life? God has the answers in His Word that that guide you in wisdom. Don’t delay! Begin these foundational steps to build better relationships!