Our relationship with Him requires faith, trust, belief, and understanding in Him whom we cannot see, nevertheless, the awesome universe resonates with His presence and His unseen eyes (Romans 1:20 NIV).

This spiritual relationship prepares us for more wholesome relationships with individuals, peoples, and nations. Our relationship with God, however, does not come effortlessly. It requires nurture and a desire to form a relationship with Him. Maintaining our godly relationship also requires deep devotion and daily adherence to foundational godly principles.

As we grow in our relationship with God we mature in our understanding of Him. We then realize the great importance of His intervention in our lives, and of His reassuring Words, penned in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ ” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV).

“[A]nd lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NKJV). When we lack a stable relationship with God the failure is ours alone. We question God’s existence, His divine creation, His guidance, His Son’s authority, and even our capacity to form a relationship with Him. Is it because God is unseen?

Social intelligence enables human social relationships. Spiritual intelligence enables our spiritual relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. This relationship with God is critical, and it establishes the basis for the nature, purpose, and endurance of all other human relationships.

We can have lasting, peaceful, and mortal relationships when we develop a lasting spiritual relationship with God. Lasting mortal relationships pose a great challenge to individuals and nations, regardless of their level of sophistication, social and economic status, or system of government.

Despite the noble goals of international peace organizations and peace agreements between and among nations, the global community struggles to avoid the breakdown of relationships. These relational breakdowns have been the catalyst for the genocide, war, terrorism, and territorial and religious conflicts that the world has experienced over past centuries.

Modern educational enlightenment and the growth in world religions have not been sufficient to mitigate international conflict, and engender an “Age of Peace,” because peace is an attribute of our relationship with God not with man. This peace comes afterwards.

When civil societies break down, the costs to national and international economies are monumental. An immediate shift in world resources takes place as nations transfer human and financial resources from productive pursuits to deficit–driven pursuits of armaments of war.

The important enquiry is to determine why human relationships break down. Why are our relationships fragile and threatened when we arrive at positions of disagreement? Our reliance on the human intellect alone is the primary cause of our tenuous human relationships. We have chosen the same path for centuries and have only managed to elevate the military option as our primary solution with devastating results, thus creating less peace.

As a consequence, our weak nature overwhelms us as we set up spiritual barriers between God and ourselves and communication barriers between other human beings and ourselves. At this stage, we relinquish the opportunity for His divine light to shine on our relationships, as we move further away from His divine guidance.

The evidence that God’s spiritual nature is no longer working within us is then reflected in our outward violent reactions to other individuals and nations. With much ease we adopt an unforgiving attitude, an uncaring, unloving, and even prejudiced nature.

Without the divine understanding of our spiritual relationship with God, it is impossible to establish lasting relationships in the natural world. Unintentionally, perhaps intentionally, we allow the demands of our materially driven lives to draw our attention away from God and His nurturing relationship.

When we neglect to give honor to God, all other relationships are weakened; we fail to honor and obey our parents; we fail to serve others; we fail to obey authority; we fail to manage God’s creation. We falter in our faithfulness to wives and husbands, and we diminish our loyalties to friends. God in His infinite wisdom, knowing our weaknesses, did not leave us without bonds upon which to build permanent relationships. Read my blog – Relationship: Nine Spiritual Bonds of Human Relationships.

— Our relationship with God does not come effortlessly. It requires deep devotion.

Unless otherwise expressed, the views expressed in the opinion column are not endorsed by the editors or publishers of ByBlacks.com