Text- Matthew 22:35-40 – Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
You see, this life is all about relationships; I am in fact convinced that there is nothing more important than the relationships in our lives.This is the reason why the “greatest commandments” are centered on relationships.
From today’s text, we observe that there are two kinds of relationships we must pay attention to: Vertical relationship and Horizontal relationship.
Vertical relationship refers to our relationship with God. We have talked to some degree about this in the past few days. God is our life source and we can’t afford to lose contact with him for a second! We must constantly stay in touch with him.
Prov. 3: 5-7 says “Trust in the Lord WITH ALL THINE HEART; and lean not unto thine own understanding. IN ALL THY WAYS acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil”. Note the emphasis on “WITH ALL THINE HEART” and “IN ALL THINE WAYS”. What do these two mean to you?
I want to encourage you today to always keep in touch with God… don’t trust your intellect more than God; don’t depend on men rather than God; don’t forget your quiet time; pray without ceasing; worship him in spirit and in truth; wait upon him regularly (fast at least once in a week); and most importantly, flee from sin!
Don’t allow anyone or anything whatsoever to disconnect you from God. In fact, don’t be too busy serving Him that you forget or neglect your personal fellowship with Him.
Next to our vertical relationship, Jesus said we must also cherish our horizontal relationships (i.e. our relationship with fellow human beings), handle them correctly and guard them jealously.
Besides the fact that we are supposed to relate with all men in love and sincerity of heart, there are certain people that God has ordained to help make your destiny to happen, and as you go through life, you must be sensitive to recognize them, respond correctly to them, and stay in touch with them. Your pastor, church family, spouse, parents and divinely orchestrated friendships belong in this category.
Let me round off by sharing with you the 7 levels of contact that you must constantly pay attention to: God (closely followed by established Godly leadership structure) > Your Marriage > Your Family > Your Church > Your Friends > The Body of Christ > All men (in that order).
Maybe you have noticed that you have not been handling one or more relationships in your life correctly. You can start making amends by seeking forgiveness from God, your spouse, you family, your friends or anyone you have hurt and turn a new leaf.
PRAYERS:
1. Lord, today I confess my love for you and my absolute trust in you with all my heart. I will acknowledge you in all my ways.
2. I receive the grace to rightly value divinely orchestrated relationships in my life in Jesus’ Name.
3. I decree that henceforth, my path will consistently cross with the paths of those whom God has ordained to help in making my destiny to happen.