How to Be Blessed By God
Diligence in Relationships
Scripture: Hebrews 12:14
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Yesterday’s devotional dealt with the phrase: “Make every effort.” We also talked about the holiness factor…being diligent in our efforts to please God. I want to return to this verse and look at the other truth taught in this powerful verse. This truth deals with our relationships with the people around us. We are to “live in peace with all men.” This factor is so important to God that He emphasized it by using the phrase: make every effort to live in peace with all men! There is no way to ignore the fact that our relationships with people are critical factors to our relationship with God. In Matthew 5:23, Jesus reminded us that if we are in the midst of worshipping and remember that a relationship is not what it ought to be, we are to leave worship and go mend that relationship. Again, that is our part of “making every effort”! God blesses us for that effort even if the relationship can’t be mended because of the other person involved.
As you drive to work, as you interact with coworkers, as you relate to family members, are you making every effort to live in peace with them? Every effort? This assumes that relationships are often tough and challenging. Conflicts occur and tension is created by differing opinions. It is not sinful to disagree with other people on issues of life. God expects us to learn to disagree agreeably!