The Importance of Relationship

Last week I attended a memorial service for a young mother who was only 41 years old.  A service like this forces us to consider afresh what is important in this brief life on earth.  This young mother, Miriam, struggled with cancer for three years, yet through all her struggles, she remained true to what really mattered, relationships.  Each day our attention is drawn in many different directions and in our busyness we tend to lose our perspective of what counts.  We must continuously evaluate the activities of our days.  The Psalmist asked God to “teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Our life on earth is short and we must use the time we are given wisely.

Jesus lived His life on earth wisely.  He did not lay up “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”  As Jesus told a certain scribe, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”  He lived His life with a completely different perspective.  His relationships were what mattered.  He gave His heart to the Father, His guidance to His chosen disciples, and His love to the people who surrounded Him on a daily basis.  We are called to follow His example.  Relationships must also be what matter to us in our everyday lives.

In Matthew 15 Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites.  “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honour Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.’” Our relationship with the Father must take precedence in our lives.  Just as Jesus took time away by Himself to pray, so must we.  Often times we allow our schedules to crowd out our precious time with the Lord.  Our hearts drift far from Him.  Let us draw near to Him not with our mouths, but with our hearts.

Let us also draw near to those special ones whom God has placed in our lives, our family.  How easy it is to take family for granted while we flit about from activity to activity.  Throughout the book of Matthew, we see Jesus spending time alone with His disciples.  He taught the crowds in parables and later explained the meaning of the parables to His chosen few.  We must also take time with our family, time to teach and time to let each one know of their value to us and to God.  Too many families are falling apart.  Someone must be the one that pulls them together with wisdom and guidance.  Miriam did this with her family and her daughter’s words concerning her mother’s death stand as a testimony to Miriam’s diligence in the life of her family.   

Great multitudes followed Jesus and He was moved with compassion for them.  He healed them, taught them, and fed them.  Jesus ministered to those who came into His life.  In the same way, we are to reach out to those whom God brings into our lives.  People and their needs cannot be overlooked as we hurry ahead with our plans for each day.   Worth must be given to each person with whom we come in contact.  We must reach out in the same way that Jesus did, with love and compassion.

Life is short and our influence is small.  Yet the choices we face daily are many.  Prayerfully we can make choices that really matter, where our influence will make a difference.  We can choose to put God and people at the top of our priority list.  This is the more excellent way, the way of love.  Let us walk in that way.