Authentic Relationships

Authentic Relationships

As a community of believers in Jesus Christ, we recognize the importance of authentic relationships within the church. The Church is not about a building but it is about a people. The two great commandments are to love God and to love one another. So we cannot fulfill this without others.

At Encounters Church authentic relationships is one of our core values. We love sharing life together and growing in a safe environment, engaging in worship, activities, groups, and outreaches

Authenticity is defined (Google) as a presence, living in the moment with conviction and confidence and staying true to yourself. Authentic is defined as:genuine,“not false or copied; genuine.”

Authentic relationships do not mean perfect relationships. We all know that even within families there is sometimes strife and offense. But with God in the equation we have empowerment by His grace. We are growing into a family with Christ as the head. Often we can be emotionally affected by the negative behavior of others. But if we examine ourselves and others we know that everyone has some imperfections. But with God’s help we can overlook small offenses and come into a place of understanding

God is a God of restoration. He takes broken and wounded lives and mends them. We are all like one who was beaten and left wounded in the street. Then the good Samaritan came and bound up our wounds and poured oil (medicine) on them, and paid the bill for us and left us in the care of the innkeeper. The good Samaritan is Jesus and we are the wounded ones. But we are also the innkeepers, who take care of those in the restoration process. So as innkeepers we follow Jesus’ instructions and help care for those in need. Therefore authentic relationships validate us as both the wounded ones and the ones providing care. This is the give and take nature of authentic relationships.

We are able to love God even though we can’t see Him. The Bible says that how can we love God who we can’t see, if we don’t love our neighbors who we do see? God puts into our hearts a desire to connect and have true friendships with others. We need not to fear because of past hurts, and trust God to lead us into the right relationships.

Jesus perfectly modeled having authentic relationships . He spent three and a half years with twelve men, teaching them in the ways of the Father, and helping them. He poured out His time and effort into them. He did not belittle, discourage, or barrage them. .He loved them and encouraged them. He saw each one's potential and worked towards them reaching their destinies.

One of the important principles of the Bible is to be our brother’s keeper (not meaning only biological brothers). This is what God confronted Cain with because he was envious of Abel. God said that sin is crouching at your door but don’t let it overcome you. However he chose not to listen but to murder his brother. We may not be murderers but if we hate or are often angry and bitter, it is a similar attitude like a murderer. But now we can fulfill the great two commandments mentioned above which are all about love for God and for people. Jesus has enabled us now to do this through the “new commandment” - love one another as I have loved you.

If you are a parent you know how good you feel it is when your children get along well together or with their friends. It is one of a parent’s great delights! Or if you are a school teacher you will also understand this.. So you can picture how God feels when His children are not getting along.

So we can learn that authentic relationships involve honesty and speaking the truth, but in love. We can respect one another and no longer have quarrels, contentions, gossip, and division. As we follow Jesus and are led by His Spirit we will find ourselves desiring and developing authentic relationships.

So far I have emphasized about authentic relationships in the church. The church is a good place to learn and practice these. But we are called as disciples of Jesus Christ and members of the Kingdom of God to .expand these kinds of relationships outside, wherever we go. This is one of the main ways that people will begin to understand the love of God. So let us have a mindset to put these principles into practice, and thereby will help to have fulfilling lives, effect our culture, and make our world a better place!