In my single days I keep hearing from people and reading in books about the importance of dealing with insecurities before getting into relationships. As a bit of a catch-22, most of these insecurities won't surface until you start dating, this was certainly true in my case.
Past or current relationships that hurt us somehow tends to shape our perception and, at least in my case, leads to me making assumptions about the things people say or do. Generally these are not positive assumptions and I find myself reacting to imagined insults or attacks. How it usually plays out is a conflict rises up and I find myself assuming that her intentions are the same those of people in past interactions - which, more often than not, is simply untrue. I defend against an attack that was never there and end up hurting her.
Why IS that? What is it in us that makes it so easy to assume the worst in others and so hard to imagine the best? Why is it so hard to trust that the people closest to us have our best interest at heart? To quote someone who was merely quoting someone else, "hurt people hurt people." The good news is that Jesus' death upon the cross was meant to repair what was damaged in the fall of Genesis 3 - namely our relationship towards not only God, but each other as well. We see it in various aspects of Jesus' ministry from the bleeding woman to his charge to John to care for his mother, Mary, after his death. Jesus cares about our relationships and always desires reconciliation.
Encouragement for the week, to work hard at shedding cynical/judgmental views towards others and to clarify rather than assume; to be calm rather than wrathful; and to pursue peace rather than frustrations that chases us when we make false, groundless assumptions.
Have a happy Wednesday,
Edward
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:16-19
painting on water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
