You can’t make it in life without the right relationships. Relationships will make or break your life. You need wisdom and direction on what to do when relationships break
down, and how to cultivate and grow relationships.
Fortunately, God has wisdom and direction about relationships.
In Romans 12, Paul paints a clear picture of what a believer’s life should look like today. Romans 12 is all about the key relationships that define our growth in Christ. When
we develop healthy relationships with God, ourselves and others we grow in vital areas of our lives.
As God changes us from the inside out, God has new relationships for you.
SURRENDER TO GOD
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Your relationship with God is the foundation of your journey of Life Change into the person God has for you to become. We can have faith, but the spiritual strength of our
life will be weak unless we surrender our lives.
It is like a water hose that gets kinked up. We believe and we grow in our faith, but no water is coming out. What unkinks the hose is when our relationship with God is
surrendered.
Surrendering to God is the power that transforms our faith.
HAVE SPIRITUAL RESPONSES TO EVIL WITH GOOD
“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord. Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:14-21 (NLT)
How do you respond to evil with good? I definitely know it’s not easy. It is not our natural response. But in Romans 12:14-21 we find three steps how to forgive those who
have hurt us and betrayed us:
Bless those who persecute you.
Identify with them.
Associate with them.
God supernaturally works in our hearts when we bless those who have hurt us, and when we act in compassion and identify with them. We are all sinners, and the reality is
that but for the grace of God, you and I might have acted the same way they did when they hurt you.
Forgiving an enemy and living out these three steps can happen in a moment or in the course of a lifetime. In forgiveness, God offers us…freedom.
