Relationships are the Main Thing

Posted byEd LevyPosted in21 Things I Want to Tell My Sons, Blog Post, ChristianityTags:, , , , , , , ,

“Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.“

(Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

(Leviticus 19:18)

The final thing I want to share with you is that relationships are the main thing. When you boil it all down, Genesis to Revelation, one thing comes through as the common theme. Our relationship to God is the most important thing in our life. And the second most important thing is our relationships with others. True Christianity at its core is loving God and loving others.  Jesus confirmed this when they asked Him what the greatest commandment was (Matt 22:35-40).  Our relationships are to be characterized by love. Don’t be so task oriented that you run over the people around you. Be people oriented. Don’t be so busy that you neglect your relationship with God for work or sports or whatever. Take time to cultivate your relationship with God. And do what works for you, whether it is morning or night, whenever. Just spend time with God. Make your relationship with God and your relationships with others the top priority of your life.

Daniel is a great example of taking time out to commune with God (Dan 6:10). Spend time with your friends. Don’t wait for them to call you, call them. Reject passivity. Spend time with your wife. It is very important that you sustain your marriage and cultivate that relationship. Do not take it for granted. Spend time with your children. They will not be around forever. Soon they will grow up and fly away like little birds. Spend time with them while you can, especially when they are young. And do things they want to do, not just things you want to do.

Develop relationships. They are one of the only things you can invest in that will last beyond eternity. Almost everything else you do on this earth will burn up eventually. With God, with your family, with friends and even with strangers (remember the good Samaritan), develop and cultivate the relationships in your life. They are the main thing. Loving God and loving others is the main thing.

Deuteronomy Chapter Six – A Commentary

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“Choose you this day whom you will serve…..but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua 24:15

Published by Ed Levy

Growing up Jewish, the extent of my knowledge about Jesus and Christianity was limited to what was on the rock album "Jesus Christ Superstar". Becoming born again in college, that changed. Jesus showed up, and my life has never been the same. I thank God every day for bringing me into His kingdom, and write these blogs to remember what He has shown me, and to share them with my four sons and others. I owe much to several pastors who have strongly influenced me over the years, including Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Robert Lewis, John Ortberg, John Eldredge, and most recently Tim Keller and David Levine. Many of my blogs are the 'aha' moments that I have had over the years from listening to their sermons and reading their books, and I owe them a great debt of gratitude. My prayer for you is that you will be blessed by these writings, that God will become more real to you, and that your relationship with Him will become more profound as you grow in His grace.

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