Relationships Are Most Important

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. – John 19: 26-27 (NRSV)

What does it mean to you that even upon the cross Jesus was taking care of the people with him? Does this say anything about the importance of relationships? If so what does it say?

The following story was sent to me:
I sat next to the bed of old man, a friend for over twenty years, and held his hand. Hal was dying. We both knew these next few days would be his last.
We spent time reminiscing about his long and fruitful career as a church pastor. We talked about old friends. We chatted about his family. And I listened as he offered sage wisdom and advice to a member of a "younger generation."
At a lull in the conversation, Hal seemed to carefully consider what he was about to say next. Then he squeezed my hand, gazed intently into my eyes and whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, "Nothing is more important than relationships."
I knew that this was somehow near the pinnacle of his life's learnings. As he considered all of his experiences -- personal, professional, spiritual and family, this one ultimate observation surfaced above the rest: "Nothing is more important than relationships."
"Don't get overly caught up in your career," he seemed to be saying to me. "Likewise, don't use people in order to achieve your goals, then throw them away. No project, no program, no task should be pursued at the expense of friends and family. Remember," I heard him saying, as clearly as if he were speaking the words, "that in the end, only your relationships will truly matter. Tend them well."
Writer Og Mandino puts it this way: "Beginning today," he said, "treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."
At the end of a long life, my friend Hal would have agreed.

Even on the cross Jesus recognized the relationships right in front of him. Sure there was a great goal he was achieving, but not at the expense of the people who would live on without him physically present. If Jesus could take time out of saving the world to make sure people he loved were taken care of, I hope we can take time out of our days to remember that nothing is more important than relationships. That might have been Jesus’ whole point!

With hope and joy,
Garrett

Love and Forgiveness

At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.” – Matthew 18:21-22 (The Message)

Have you had to forgive one person a lot of times? How hard was it? What about Jesus’ message made forgiveness this important? Have you ever wanted to give up on someone? Did you? Would Jesus?

The following is an anonymous story that was e-mailed to me.
When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!"
Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

We have no idea how close anyone is to giving up on himself or herself. Each of us has had others give up on us, and then wanted to throw in the towel too, to say, “I’ve had enough!” God created us to live together, and let’s be honest; we don’t always live together well. That is why we need forgiveness, without it love cannot win, because without it love cannot exist. Sure forgiveness is hard sometimes, most of the time really, but not forgiving is worse.

With hope and joy,
Garrett