RESTORING BROKEN RELATIONSHIP

God has restored our relationship with him through Christ and has given us this ministry of restoring relationship (2Cor 5:18)

Relationship is always worth restoring. Life is always about learning how to love. God wants us to value relationships and to make the effort to maintain them instead of discarding them when there is a rift, a hurt or conflict.

**CHRIST has made a difference in our lives... "Love one another..."

**Our ability to get along with one each other is a mark of maturity.

**If you want God's blessings and you want to be a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker.

**You are formed to be a part of God's family and the second purpose of of your life is to love and relate to others.

Peacemaking is not avoiding conflicts, running from conflicts or afraid to talk about it.

Peacemaking is not appeasement: not giving in or allowing others to run your life.

How to restore relationship:

* Talk to God before talking to the person: most conflict is rooted in unmet needs. Some of these needs can only be met by God. No one can meet all your needs except God.

* Always take the initiative: it doesn't matter whether you are the offender or the offended. Make the first move. Restoring relationship is very important. Sin blocks fellowship with God and keeps our prayers from being answered.

* Sympathize with their feelings: open your ears more than mouth. Listen to people's feelings. Just listen and let them unload emotionally even when you don't disagree. It is a sacrifice to patiently absorb the anger of others, especially when it is unfounded.

* Confess your part of the conflict: admit your own mistakes. Get rid of the log in your own eye first. Confession is a powerful tool for reconciliation. When you begin to admit your mistakes, it defuses the other person's anger and disarm their attack. Accept responsibility for your mistakes and ask for forgiveness.

* Attack the problem, not the person: how to say and deal with problem is more important - use pleasant words, helpful words - to heal and reconcile.

* Cooperate as much as possible: do everything is your life to live in peace with everybody. Peace has a price tag - it costs our pride, our self-centeredness. Do your best to compromise, adjust to others and show preference to what they need, not compete. You are a family of God.

* Emphasize reconciliation , not solution: Reconciliation focuses on relationship; resolution focuses on problem. We can reestablish relationship even when are unable to resolve our differences. We can disagree even without being disagreeable. God expects unity, not uniformity. Reconciliation means we bury the hatchet, not the issue.

When you work for peace, you are doing what God is doing. And we become children of God. Peacemakers are God's children.