It's all about RELATIONSHIP...

During my first lunch with my dear pastor, he told me "Doug, it's all about relationship..." This was the first of many such meetings during which we would share a multitude of experiences and concerns, which were uppermost in our minds that day.  Going forward, we continue to grow and learn from each other, each considering the other sort of a mentor. As I think about Jesus Christ, his whole life on earth set an example for all believers to model in all of our relationships.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified...and control our own body in a way that is holy and honorable...". To sanctify something is to declare that it belongs to God. Quoting from Zondervan's Bible dictionary, it says 'In an ethical sense it means the progressive conformation of the believer into the image of Christ or the process by which the life is made morally holy. Sanctification is through the redemptive work of Christ and the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit.'

Each of us, as believers are a work in progress; each day we re-dedicate our life of continuous growth, to seek god's will on an on-going basis and to be drawn into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. Now in the 21st. century, the words of 1 Corinthians 15:12 are so appropriate "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face."  We believe in Jesus Christ, a person we have never talked to, touched, or seen physically; the Son, with the Father, and the Holy spirit, the Trinity.

We want and need a relationship with Jesus, whose life was an example for us to try to follow with our loved ones and those around us. To me, the pictures above depict 'a poor reflection, as in a mirror' of what someday will be a perfect love for each one of us. A young father loving his child, a young couple loving their children at the beach, an older couple sharing life as empty nesters, and so it continues as we interact with every person who God puts in our path each day. May our life truly be an image of God's love for each person as we seek to follow God's will today. It's all about relationship!