I saved the best for last!
When Jesus empowered us to expand His wealth, He gave us the great commission—He set us up to use the greatest tool we have, our relationships. We are created as relational beings. We crave relationships as individuals and as a society. We engage in hundreds if not thousands of relationships throughout the course of our lives.
I will be the first one to confess that I have done a poor job through the years of embracing the power that I have in my relationships. I have done a poor job of trying to act like Jesus and showing his love through those relationships.
Over the last several months I have thought more and more about this. Working on God of Hope has stretched my mind further into what it means to use my relationships to lead another person into a personal relationship with Jesus.
I started thinking, “What if?”
– What if I am not around to teach my kids about Jesus?
– What if I am not the one that can help connect those dots for them?
– What if no one else is willing to make the commitment invest in them?
– What if someone else gives up on my children?
– What if I am that SOMEONE for someone else’s child?
We are told in the Bible to live in this world but not be part of it. And that God loved the world. Why am I not loving the world too? What gets in the way? Where do those ideas and influences come from?
I believe that we have let religion dictate too much of who we talk to, how we talk to them, and what we talk about. Instead of letting our relationship in Jesus shine through and show His love, we allow the perception of judgment to hinder it.
At God of Hope, we encourage you to use your relationships and become a Life Changer through the steps of the Hope Circle. It’s a big thing, but a rewarding one. The Hope Circle breaks this down into easier steps.
You will soon see a new section of God of Hope titled, “Oh no! Christians… getting it wrong… getting it right.” Our hope is that we, believers as those who believe in Jesus, can get it right and use our relationships to love others in a way that people will truly see Jesus through us.
Keith Sampson
Executive Coordinator – God of Hope