“Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.”
Romans 5:18 NLT
Yesterday at our family 4th of July celebration, I had a great conversation with my cousin Michael. We were talking about life and relationships and our conversation centered on this truth. Until your vertical relationship with God is right, all of your horizontal relationships here on earth will not be right. There is so much truth in this statement as I look at my own life.
Every relationship I’ve had in my life has been affected by this truth. As I look at relationships in the past, whether as friends or romantically, I can see this truth playing out. When relationships ran into trouble I always tried to find ways to fix the other person or fix myself. But I never focused on fixing my vertical relationship with God. Back then I was far from the path God wanted me to walk but I had no interest in fixing that. I wanted to continue down the path I was going and because of that my relationships struggled.
The truth is, even if I decided to focus on fixing my vertical relationship with God, if the other person didn’t do the same the relationship would still struggle. For a relationship to truly grow and flourish, you both have to make sure your vertical relationship with God is where it should be.
Several years ago, Jen and I lived out this truth when we each decided to truly accept Christ in our lives. Each day, in our own way, we make sure our vertical relationship is where it should be. When we run into trouble the first thing we try do is look at our relationship with God before looking at the other person.
If you are struggling in a relationship, you should each take a step back and evaluate your vertical relationship with God. If it”s not where it should be then take time to fix it. When you are both properly aligned in that relationship, you will see your horizontal relationship go to a whole other level!
Truth In Love! ~ Chuck
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