When Adam and Eve sinned against God, three relationships were broken: the relationship between us and God, the relationship between man and himself, and the relationship between us and others. Our job now is to repair and rebuild those relationships, in our own unique ways, as much as we can during our lifetimes, and to encourage and assist others in doing likewise.
Jesus gave us instructions—love “God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and love “your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39.) Jesus was telling us how to restore all three relationships: love God more than anything else; love yourself sufficiently; and love other people at least as much as you love yourself.
Like our sermon from yesterday asked, But How?
Well, we restore our relationship with God when we soften our heart, decide to trust him more than we trust ourselves, and obey His laws and statutes.
We restore the relationship with ourselves when we soften our heart and decide to care for ourselves as God intends – dealing with idolatry or addiction (to work, to food, to alcohol, to pornography, or anything else.)
And, we restore relationships with others when we soften our hearts, decide to look around for people who need us, and bend our lives toward loving and serving and forgiving them.
Jesus said we are the salt of the earth, but if that salt has lost its flavor it is no longer any good. I pray that you would begin to soften your heart and remain salty, my friends.