Relationships centered on God

Ephesians 4:1-5:2 tells us a lot about relationships that are centered on God. According to Paul, these relationships include humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, and unity through the bond of peace. Our common bond, then, is our oneness with Christ and in Christ. In other words, these characteristics are not possible without Jesus. If Jesus is involved, we can see one another through His eyes, revealing (if we look) the truth of each other's hearts. When we look through our own eyes, we are most likely to see the results of the lies believed by the other, and/or the distortion of the lies we believe.

Reflected in God-centered relationships is the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The Ephesians verses describe this reflection as the body of Christ being built up by the service and contribution of each member. Let me explain. When we are one with Jesus, we create something new and completely unique. Our partnership with Jesus is literally one-of-a-kind. The "whole" produced by that oneness is greater than what we alone produce. The same is true of the body of Christ and our relationships with each other. We are all added to by the relationships of the body of Christ, and we are greater for those relationships than we would be alone. Our relationships also reflect growth in maturity, unity in faith, and more intimacy in knowing God, as we edify each other through our joining together with Christ. As a result, we are not easily swayed by this wind or that, false teaching and deceiving words of others. Our relationships reflect the truth, thus "growing us up" into Christ.

What do relationships centered on God produce? According to Paul, we are no longer darkened in our understanding and our hearts are no longer hardened. This means we are no longer insensitive and self-indulgent. In addition, we are no longer self-protective. We are willing to risk being open and honest - fully ourselves and fully vulnerable to each other, even when we think it is difficult to do so. Our new self (our transformed creation) puts away all falsehood and speaks truthfully from our hearts. Some may say that at times the truth is hard, but does that mean we stay silent and do not respond in truth to each other? Not according to Paul, who calls us to speak the truth in love to one another. We also forgive each other, not because we deserve forgiveness, but because Christ has forgiven each of us. (And there is a lot for Him to forgive). Finally, when we center on God, we live a life of love. A life of love follows the example set for us by Jesus in His relationships. As Jesus said, He only did what He saw His Father doing. With Jesus in our hearts, allowing Him to direct our relationships means we only do as we see Him doing. This brings us full circle: we cannot accomplish a life of love without the presence of Christ. Without Jesus, these things are impossible; but all things are possible with God.