We’re Not The Same [Things Change pt. 3]

Gravetop Church

Main Idea: Relationships change over time because people change over time, and it’s important to learn how to discern the moments in which you need to hold on to them or let go.

Everybody goes through different things in life that change how they see themselves and the world around them. These life changes affect nearly all of our relationships, especially the ones most important to us. It’s in these moments that we have to learn how to accept the fact that people change and decide whether or not we should continue to foster the relationships between us.

In this message, we are going to unpack the evolving nature of people and relationships so that we can better understand the moments in which people change. We’re going to learn how to practically analyze these different relationships to determine how to handle them. And we’re going to look at these relationship changes through a spiritual lens in order to capture the idea of hidden potential.

The reason that this topic is so important is because while we all go through these kinds of changes in our relationships, we often feel confused as to what to do and we don’t know when to let go or hold on. So many great and meaningful relationships are let go of that were still good, and so many sour and toxic relationships are held onto unnecessarily.

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1. They Changed

[NO RELATIONSHIP IS MEANT TO STAY THE SAME FOREVER]

No relationship is exactly the same over time, and they’re not supposed to be. Some will develop and grow while others will become stagnant and stink. No matter the Relationship types: parental, sibling, friend, romantic, marital, spiritual, authoritative, etc. We must come to a realization that “changing” is a part of life and should be expected. If we don’t adapt to the changes within the relationships we have, then we will grow increasingly disappointed and frustrated as our unrealistic expectations continue to grow farther away from reality

John 13:21-25; Acts of the Apostles 9:26

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2. Fair Expectations

[COMMITMENT IS GREATER THAN COMPATIBILITY]

There is just something spiritual about these specific relationships. The Bible talks so specifically to each of these roles and relationships and how to foster them. I think that it does so because of how incredibly meaningful these specific ones are to our lives. So we should learn how to accept the changes that they go through and let go of certain false expectations of them so that we can appreciate what we do have with them rather than being bitter at what we don’t have with them.

Ephesians 6:1-4; Ephesians 5:22-29 —

3. Be Open Minded

[YOU CAN’T GRASP WHAT’S IN THE FUTURE IF YOU DON’T LET GO OF THE PAST]

We must keep an open mind about the relationships we have and don’t have with people. Simply put, sweet things can turn sour and sour things can turn sweet. We become so tunnel visioned with certain relationships that we forget that there are a lot of people in the world. We convince ourselves of truly silly ideas like, “I’ll never find anyone like them again” when it’s simply not true. You may even find someone who is even better for you!

Acts of the Apostles 15:36-40

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