Love in Relationships

Relationships are the often the greatest blessing in our lives. Husbands and wives, parents and children, friends, these are all part of our life’s primary focus. I remember vividly those first moments of connection when I first started dating my husband. My children’s first smiles. Some of the best memories I have are the ones where I ran around crazy with good girlfriends.

The opposite is also true of relationships; they also cause the deepest pain. It was devastating when my husband I had our first real disagreement. The shock I felt the first time my son deliberately disobeyed me. Broken bonds of friendship that were not easily repaired. Relationships bring real sorrow and disappointment.

I began thinking about relationships this week after studying Genesis. While God is the Holy Creator of the universe, He is also described as our Father. God’s attribute as Father came alive to me as I studied these first passages in Genesis. Consider first the way God made people. He did not command from Heaven that people exist, although He surely could have. Instead he came down to the Earth He created and lovingly created Adam. Once God created Adam, He wanted him to have a companion, and again He carefully and purposefully created Eve. From the beginning God loved people. It was a relationship He created and valued.

In this wonderful relationship, heartache came because of sin. Just like our relationships today, sin is what causes break in our relationships. Selfishness, pride, hate, anger, jealousy, and the list can go on and on. The point is that sin harms relationships. And so, as we do today, sin caused a break between God and His creation. God could have, quite justly, destroyed Adam and Eve immediately. He does not, in fact God does not insantly come down and accuse them of sin. He asks them “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” God knew what they had done, yet chose to ask them, what love. I wish I could learn to always speak kindly even when someone has wronged me. While God is just and righteous and cannot tolerate sin, He shows love when dealing with His children.

He takes them out of the Garden and with grace shows them his unconditional love, and the remedy for their sin. God knew that he would have to ultimately send His Son to redeem us, but was willing to make that sacrifice because of His perfect love.

It is my hope that when as women when our husbands, children or friends hurt us, or we hurt them, that we remember the most important relationship of all. The one we have with our Father in Heaven.

God is not only our perfect example of love, God is Love.