And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 Did you grow up without someone telling you that you are amazing—just as you are? God loves each of us unconditionally, with no strings attached. And when we experience his love, we are empowered to love like he does. First Corinthians 13 teaches us how to love others the way God loves us. It says: Love endures. Love has to endure because all of us are imperfect. People will do things you don’t like, but you can love them anyhow as you confront the behaviour that hurts you.   Love is patient. Even healthy relationships require repeated forgiveness and understanding.   Love is kind. When you …

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. Ephesians 4:15 (MSG) What does it mean to speak the truth in love? The same truth can be shared with different intentions. Let’s pretend you’ve noticed that one of your employees has been slacking off at work lately. This employee often gets on your nerves, so you can’t wait to lay into them about their behaviour. The trouble is, if your intention is to put that person in their place, you’re not going to speak the truth in love. Your motive is to bring them down and it’s going to come across very maliciously. Now, let’s pretend that you’re dealing with the same issue—you need to …

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. Proverbs 27:6 (NLT) Strong friendships can only form if two people are willing to broach the truth with each other…even when it gets uncomfortable. We all want relationships that are supportive, strong, happy and fun. We want people around us who we can trust and who trust us; friends who can have a good time but are also willing to help us up when we fail and lend a shoulder when we need someone to lean on. To develop these relationships, we need to be willing to talk about the issues that stand between us. We can’t dance around each other’s hot buttons because we’re too afraid to rock the boat. We …

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Matthew 16:23 Even the healthiest relationships experience conflict. No matter how wonderful the relationship is, you’re going to need to create boundaries and stick to them. Even if you think you’re being the “bigger person,” it’s unhealthy to be quiet about behaviour that crosses boundaries. The silence not only hurts you, but it also enables the other person to continue destructive behaviour. In developing healthy relationships, follow Jesus’s example. Jesus didn’t hesitate to confront those he loved. When Peter tried to talk Jesus out of fulfilling his mission, Jesus instantly confronted his behaviour. You …

A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; and a gossip separates the best of friends. Proverbs 16:28 (NLT) Trust is earned over time. It’s not built on what people say they will do but what they actually do and don’t do. Gossip is one thing you need to watch out for when you’re establishing trust with someone. As today’s verse says, gossip can separate the best of friends. Some people just love to stir things up. They are quick to focus on other’s flaws and they seem to take offence with everything. Be careful. Their influence can create problems in your other relationships. Also, you never know when they might turn their fault-finding microscope on you. You also need to be careful of those who are …