Broken Relationships!

 "BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS"

What should be the position of a Christian when a relationship breaks down?

Be it family, work, love, or even between brothers of faith. Can we force a relationship?

No!, because relationships will always be between two or more people, and many times it will not depend only on us, no matter how good intentions we have.

When someone finds out that as Christians we do not maintain a relationship with someone close to us, we are quickly going to be judged and very possibly also condemned: How can they not talk to each other!...What kind of Christians are they?...They should fix themselves!

It is true that I should do everything possible to reconcile, when I am the cause of the breakup, but when is the other? He abandoned me, he doesn't want to see me or talk to me, he doesn't want to have any kind of relationship with me, am I responsible for the other's decisions?

What does the Bible say about it?

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" (Romans 12:18)

If it is possible... the text begins by saying, because it is not always possible, there are spiteful, vengeful, toxic, envious people (even within the faith), who will cause you harm, if you give them the opportunity, common sense is not It is possible to recover all relationships, for example: A son abused by his father, a wife violated by her husband, a member who divided the church, a family member who stole or defrauded you, there must be recognition and repentance to forgive.

Jesus teaches us that we must forgive as we were forgiven, leaving aside the cheap grace of the "other gospel", I was forgiven when I recognized myself as a sinner and repented, I did not receive a commission full of free forgiveness, for what I did, what I do and what I will do. (this was the indulgences of the church of Rome)

If there is recognition and repentance, we must as Christians forgive seventy times seven, which is a Hebraism, an idiom of the Hebrew culture and means "always", always forgive.

The text continues: "As long as it depends on you", peace does not always depend on one, I can do everything and still, whether they want to kill me, or for me to die, we try, we try, we try, which does not mean that we achieve it.

Sometimes the hatred towards you is gratuitous, they will hate you because they hate Jesus, they will persecute you because that is how they persecuted the Lord.

When we think about this concept we always attribute it to the enemies of Christianity, or to the enemies, properly speaking, we never imagine that it could be someone very close, a close friend or family, a spouse, a brother, a parent or a son.

"Be at peace with all men"

Everyone, it means exactly that, everyone, brothers of faith, relatives and blood relations, friends and partners, also any man/woman could not want to be at peace with me, and not depend on me, but on the other.

Furthermore, all human beings are designed with a survival instinct, which leads us to avoid danger or any threat, to achieve this we defend ourselves or move away, which is why we must move away.

It is true that any offense, as Christians we forgive, we take it from our hearts, we do not hold grudges or bitterness, which will only harm ourselves, any offense, no matter how serious it may be, we forgive, now to restore the relationship, there must be recognition and regret, and then there is trust, it was lost, we can no longer trust as before, you will have to work hard to regain it, trust is obtained over time, when it is broken to obtain it again, there is a whole process.

Sergio Gebel