Quotes about Relationships

God has a bigger agenda for our relationships than we do

Our template or road map is Ephesians 4. As you read it, ask yourself what it says about (1) the struggle of self-interest and (2) God's agenda for our relationships. This passage will be the grid you can use to look at the issues of relationship we address in this book.

Jesus is pointing to an internal reality of grace that expresses itself in observable changes in individuals and their relationships.

In other words, you can't take the gospel seriously and not take your relationships seriously.

Yet we are most true to our identity and calling when we live in the midst of broken people.

Do people regularly feel bruised in their relationship with you?

So that the body of Christ may be built up

You are either speaking as a mini-king, seeking to establish your will in your relationships and circumstances; or you are speaking as an ambassador, seeking to be part of what the King is doing. There

I want all of our talk to be redemptively constructive, from the most mundane details to the huge life decisions.

We enter relationships for personal pleasure, self-actualization, and fun. We want low personal cost and high self-defined returns. But God wants high personal cost and high God-defined returns.

When we live out of a sense of who we are in Christ, we live our lives based on all we have been given by Christ. This keeps us from seeking to get those things from the people and situations around us.

Confronting a teenager five minutes before she leaves for school is not helpful, even if the content is accurate. Rebuking a friend for an offense in front of others is not helpful. Asking your husband to consider how you hurt him as he is trying to get to sleep is not helpful.