Relationships are very important. When relationships aren’t doing well, your sense of stability and happiness is inevitably compromised. You don’t feel like getting up and just don’t have the strength to take on any challenges. 

Relationships often act as a barometer and quickly show the world how things are going between you and God. I received this letter from Elize (not her real name) some time ago.  

I didn’t grow up with a mother or a father. 

The times I did have contact with my mother always ended in disaster. In three cases it almost cost me my life. 

I don’t know where my father is. 

You see, my mother has been involved in prostitution and the sale and smuggling of drugs for as long as I can remember. She’s always been a very beautiful woman and has never had a shortage of admirers. Very streetwise and savvy. 

I’ve always longed for a relationship with my mother, a relationship where she can just be my mother and me, her child. Nothing complicated. 

I’ve tried to contact and help her several times, but she always returned to her way of life. It would perhaps be more correct to say she only stayed in my world for a while and that she never intended to leave her world behind. 

I miss my mother; I miss what could’ve been. I still love her terribly, even though I’m afraid of her. 

I wish the hurt and longing would cease. I wish there were a way to live without constantly thinking about her, worrying about her, and feeling sorry for her. 

Elize longs for her mother. She truly loves her mother and would do anything to help her. Well, she did. She spent a lot of energy, time, and money trying to pull her mother out of her detrimental environment.  

Yet her mother always returned to that destructive world, leaving behind hurt and pain. Unfortunately, that puts a big question mark over the mother’s love for her child. 

Then one wonders what her relationship is with God.: 10… The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test. 

Relationships with our brothers and sisters, our parents and children are a barometer and tell a story about our relationship with God. And beyond that, how we do things tells the same story. 

Let us live a story that proclaims our love for God. Let our relationships mirror this, showing God’s love to others, whether family, friends, coworkers or those we’ve just met. 

If we could do this, the world would look very different.  

Scripture
1 John 3:4-10 

Reflection
How healthy are your relationships?
Do all of them show God’s love?
What areas require your attention? 

Prayer
Father, I believe our earthly relationships are meant to be a reflection of You. Some of my relationships are dim. Help me to work on allowing Your light to shine through them. Amen.