Good morning and welcome to Making Space for God Mondays. Some of you may have stumbled on this blog and I am excited that you did. Every Monday I bring up ways we can draw closer to God. And more specifically how we can grow to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We are all on this journey of spiritual growth and I am glad you are coming along.

This week I am addressing how to reboot our relationships so that they can become more vibrant and filled with joy.  Relationships are gifts from God,  and we need to nurture them, but first we need to nurture our relationship with the Lord.

One definition of relationship is the state of being connected. So let’s begin with the first connection that we have as Christians from which all other relationships should flow. Jesus described this connection:

I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

He is the vine and we as believers are branches connected to Him. He is our lifeline. He is our main squeeze from which we are able to love others. The reality of an authentic relationship with Jesus gives us the means to have an authentic relationship with others. Apart from him… well, we may just be a clanging sound with no substance.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol….. love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, does not boast, it is not proud. (I Corinthians 13)

Here are ways to reboot significant relationships:

1. Stay connected to the vine
2. Learn how to love well. Put others first by seeking the very best for them.
3. Welcome authenticity. Be real. Take off your mask.
4. Stop making noise. You are not made to be a clanging symbol. You are made in the image of God and as you grow to be more Christ-like, talk less and listen more.
5.  Recognize your limitations and weaknesses. Be quick to ask for forgiveness and forgive.
6.  Appreciate your spouse, your friends, and demonstrate this in real-time ways.
7.  Do not go to bed angry because you will wake up angrier. Paul put it this way: Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger. 
8. Friends, our spouses are a gift from God. Our friends our a gift from God. It’s worth taking a moment and thanking God for each of them right now.