Hope for Real Relationships: Look to God

by Tom Holladay

“Let us stop just saying that we love people. Let us really love them, and show it by our actions.” 1 John 3:18 (LB)
"If anyone has the right to cling to his rights, it's Jesus Christ. But instead, he went to a cross and died for us. He gave up his rights so that you and I could have forgiveness and life."

(Tom Holladay is a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church and author of The Relationship Principles of Jesus.)

Even in the best of relationships, we struggle with selfishness. That’s why it’s so important to look to God as your example when you encounter problems.
How do you inject even a small amount of unselfishness into a relationship? You need to love based on God’s power and not your own power. Ephesians 4:32 teaches us, “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ” (NCV).

The only way I can find the power to forgive somebody is because God has forgiven me. His strength in me gives me the power to forgive somebody else.
How do you forgive? How do you let go of bitterness? Only God can give you a new kind of power to do that.

Philippians 2 teaches us, “Don’t be selfish. Don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself … Your attitude should be the same that was shown us by Jesus Christ, who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his right as God” (vv. 3, 5 LB).

If anyone has the right to cling to his rights, it’s Jesus Christ. But instead, he went to a cross and died for us. He gave up his rights so that you and I could have forgiveness and life.

We want to be like Jesus. We need to be the unselfish one. We will still struggle with selfishness, but if we look to God, who shows us how to do it, and ask Jesus for the power, then we can make the right decision. And instead of having a downward struggle of relationship, we’ll find and upward growing of relationship.

When you look at how much God has forgiven you, you can find the strength to forgive. When you think about how patient he has been with you, you can find the strength to be patient with somebody else.

When you consider the willingness to be honest with your faults, you look to Jesus who is honest about everything. When you see the sacrifice he made on the cross for you, then you find the power to make sacrifices in your marriage, for your kids, for a friend. .

[盈袖2006]

回复安娜晴天的评论:
等着看你写下来~
我很喜欢你乐观的精神.生活会很好的.

[安娜晴天]

看到这篇文章，让我感触很深， 不知道写一些什么好，不知道从哪里写起。
谢谢盈袖和苗青青，你们让我思考，感悟。

等我今年复活节， 如果我有空，我会带着安娜去我教母生前住过的地方，去她的墓地，再看看我能写一些什么发自内心的感悟。教母的精神影响了我的人生。

[盈袖2006]

回复苗青青的评论:
谢谢青青.希望你一切都好,不要太忙.

[苗青青]

回复盈袖2006的评论:

我很喜欢你加深的部分文字。是的， 人没有的力量， 神可以供应。为你们祷告求神的爱成为人的盼望和爱的源头，使人在神里面找到一切所需的，找到喜乐平安。

周末好！

[盈袖2006]

回复清风明月的评论:
我想要做到,首先是要真正理解到我们的罪和耶稣原谅并为我们死是什么意思.我很早知道这个说法,用了很多年才慢慢体会到它的意义.

你已经很不容易,爱他们真的很难,我也在努力中,我可以原谅,但真的不愿意接近他们.我现在做的就是为他们祷告,也为自己祷告,把一切交在神的手中,他会帮助我们的.时间可能会需要很长.但他有能力改变我们的心,这个过程中我们会更深了解神,并成长.

我有一段经历,回头写出来给你看

[清风明月]

“When you look at how much God has forgiven you, you can find the strength to forgive.”, well said.

我觉得自己还是能够做到原谅仇人或者我讨厌的人的， 但现在仍很难做到爱上他们。 盈袖, 能分享一下你是如何真心爱着曾经伤害过你的人或你讨厌的人吗？