Do you have Godly relationships in your life? How do you define a Godly relationship?
Godly relationships recognize God’s call in each other’s life, and they do what they can to support and nurture the purpose of God in the other person’s life. These relationships pay attention to God’s purpose for coming together, and they value that above and beyond individuals’ desires and affections.
Relationships that are based on truth and the purpose of God stay healthy and flexible because they are sensitive to the Spirit of God and the change He is making in each person’s life as well as in the relationship.
We live in a society that we have more acquaintances than true personal friends. We can get to know people through our children’s sports, church ministries, Bible studies, gym, workplace, and a whole host of other avenues. However, most of those individuals are not the people we will call upon if we needed something. Many of those relationships have been developed over the convenience of doing a task together or being in the same place at the same time on a regular basis.
Godly relationships require a commitment of time, energy, communication, forgiveness, and sacrifice. True mature relationships are free from competition, backbiting, flattery, or possessiveness. Each person is given room to grow and become all that God wants them to be including making new friendships or moving in a new direction.
Mary and her cousin, Elizabeth, had a beautiful Godly relationship while their lives were very different from each other. Elizabeth could have been at least 15 to 20 years older than Mary. She was married to a priest but had remained barren for years. On the other hand, Mary was a virgin teen-ager engaged to be married to Joseph with no thought of pregnancy on her mind.
And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” Luke 1:18-20
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. Matthew 1:19
Within a few months of each other, both of their worlds got interrupted by an angel. Both of them were going to have a child. Both of their spouses were surprised. Elizabeth had waited for so long that Zechariah thought they were too old to be able to have children. On the other hand, Mary was a virgin teen-ager and wasn’t yet married to Joseph. Joseph wondered if Mary was telling him the truth, and he was entertaining the idea of letting her go quietly. These two women were carrying children with purpose, but the Lord’s plan for those babies was very different from each other.
In the next devotional, I’ll share about Mary & Elizabeth’s encounter and what we can learn from their relationship.