Resurrection Means Relationships

Introduction

We are all longing for relationships right now more than ever.

Even before the Coronavirus one of the great problems in our world was a sense of loneliness as Social Media gives more and more men and women a false sense of connection.

Now with the Quarantine we realize how much we long for real meaningful relationships. We want people who care deeply for us and people we can do life with.

Jesus modeled and gave life to the Greatest Commandment through the Resurrection.

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

In dying on the cross Jesus personalized and gave life to the greatest commandments. We are now called to love and serve a God we can personalize and visualize with skin and bones.

We must realize that the Great Commandment is very relational.

We are called to relate vertically to God loving Him with our heart, soul and mind.

We are called to relate horizontally to others loving them as we love ourselves.

We mess up relationships when we get one of the two great commandments wrong.

Sometimes we fail with the vertical relationship of loving God with our heart, soul and mind.

This leads to us pursuing meaning in the wrong places by loving the wrong things.

When we find ultimate fulfillment in the wrong things we love others poorly

What we love the most we invest time, money, and effort in.

We draw others to love what we love the most because people hear what we love in our talk and see it in our walk.

If we are loving the wrong things/people in our lives than we will lead friends and family to find their meaning and greatest love in things that are worthless.

It’s like the airplane analogy. In the middle of a crisis, we first need to put our oxygen mask on in order to care for those around us. If we don’t love God rightly, we won’t have the spiritual oxygen as it were to love others well.

Sometimes we fail to love others as we love ourselves.

When this happens we sin against others.

When this happens we hurt others.

Brokenness enters our relationships.

In fact, when this happens and we fail to love others as we love ourselves we fail in how we love God.

The Resurrection tore down relational barriers.

Galatians 3:26–28 ESV

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

All who trust in Christ have a shared inheritance

You don’t normally work for an inheritance. You don’t earn it.

An inheritance is not a subjective thing that you can gain or lose, it simply is something you are born to and possess.

For example Prince Harry and Prince William of England are in the line to the throne not because of their work but because of their birth.

I am loved by my parents not because of good or bad behavior …success or failure in life, but simply by virtue of birth.

So in Christ Jesus we have a self confidence in our standing before God and in the world around.

This shared inheritance extends to all who share faith in Jesus, not just our church, country or culture.

We as a world are divided by so many different things. We are divided by

Our opinion of Donald Trump or Nancy Pelosi

Whether we think socialism is an answer or like capitalism.

Whether we should open up America sooner or wait longer for the virus to blow over.

Whether we like Android devices (wrongly) or like Apple computers

We must remember as Christians we have a powerful identity that ties us together.

Personally I’m not close to my siblings. I regret this but our lives have taken us different directions in terms of careers and geographies and opinions.

But I’m growing to realize more and more how I value my siblings. We are family and I want to build closer relationships with them. We are bound together not because we see the world the same way or agree on things, we are unified because we are blood.

As Christians we are brothers and sisters with other men and women because of Jesus and sometimes nothing else.

Ok, let me share something that I get in ministry sometimes. There are people in ministry who think that because we are unified the way we should show our unity is by the churches regularly getting together for worship.

Honestly my response to this is often to cringe. I actually enjoy worshipping with other believers and don’t have anything against many of the churches in town. But honestly , my church schedule is rather full. Prior to the Coronavirus I and many in my church had a rather full schedule and adding more church events seemed like a chore.

For me the best thing has been to connect periodically with other groups of churches.

How do we reasonably pursue connections with other churches and with other people? How do we build those relationships?

In Christ we can learn to set aside the things that divide realizing that Christ has done a work in us that transcends all the labels we wear.

Think about it. Your greatest identity is as a child of God.

That’s more important than who you are as a man or a woman.

That more important than what country you were born in.

That’s more important than your social status.

We must pursue our greatest identity as children of God and servants of Jesus Christ and be willing to de-prioritize other differences.

For example with Christy and Isabelle I’m trying to teach them what’s a big deal and what isn’t.

Yesterday they were playing in the craft room as they always do. Isabelle started saying the word “EAF” Christy corrected her so Isa would know that EAF wasn’t a word. Isa kept saying the word just to annoy Christy. Christy and I had a conversation about how she was right about the word but that in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter. Christy wanted to keep spending time with Isa. In order to do this, she had to find a way to live with Isa saying something silly.

In the same way when we focus on our most important identity and relationship we’ll realize what really isn’t important.

Ephesians 4:4–6 ESV

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

What unites us is far greater than what divides us.

The resurrection makes this possible.

We are a community of people united by an act that changed the world through sacrifice.

What’s more the Resurrection gives us a command to forgive.

Matthew 18:23–35 ESV

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The Resurrection

Levels status differences

Unifies our faith community

Demands and enables forgiveness.

The Resurrection led to the founding of the church. The church gives us a place to get relationships right.

Acts 2:44–45 ESV

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

The church started after the Resurrection of Jesus.

The church did these things as they grew

They gathered daily to learn and worship God.

They shared meals together regularly.

They shared possessions with each other.

The church provides a committed community in which to learn and get relationships right.

Romans 14:1–3 ESV

1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

In the church we have the chance to learn to live with each other and live well with those who are weak.

We learn to help each other with our weaknesses.

We learn not to quarrel over things that are just opinions.

The church is a community of broken people forgiven and learning to forgive. We are living out a command to love God with all we have and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Conclusion.

The Resurrection

Gives new life to the Greatest Commandments

Tears down relational barriers.

Gives us a place to practice getting relationships right.