Going Deeper - EphesiansSample

Christian relationships can possibly be the greatest treasure here on earth (after the relationship with God of course)! Christian relationships can also be the hardest ones here on earth. It’s just a fact.

Unity is hard work.

Loving each other and overlooking our faults and shortcomings is a Herculean task.

Submitting to each other out of love and honour is an effort.

The Christian family is where these relationship principles are first practiced and nurtured. Marriage between a man and his wife requires that they love and honour each other like Christ does His church. Words like submission and respect have been twisted out of context and sometimes even omitted because it has been abused, but these are vital ingredients that keep marriages healthy and centered on Christ.

A church that hasn’t submitted to Christ would be one of chaos. If God hadn’t passionately loved His church there would be no church today.

The relationship between parents and children is one that is often skewed because of old paradigms of parenting and can often leave bitterness and anger. Children are called to honour and obey their parents in all things while fathers are asked to bring children up without exasperating them. Irrespective of each of our life’s journeys, whether childhoods were hard or parenting was tense, the guiding principle is that we walk in love towards each other.

Working relationships also need compassion from a master’s side and obedient submission from the slave. These instances are mentioned so as to emphasise how all-encompassing our new life in Christ is. It doesn’t just relate to our Sunday “while -at-church” life, but every moment of every day. For a follower of Jesus, every aspect of their family life and work life is impacted and undergoing transformation by the Gospel.