We are made for relationships, but It’s Complicated, and after a year like 2020, our relationships are showing wear. Sin has corrupted our relationships. To be a sinner means living with the regular possibility that our relationships will suffer from our (and others’) selfishness, inattention, busyness, anger, pride, self-righteousness, fear, and laziness. It’s not simply that our relationships break: it’s that we routinely do the breaking. This may not be the world we want, but it’s the world we have.

The reality that relationships are complicated does not mean resigning ourselves or giving up. Jesus told his disciples just hours before his betrayal and arrest that he was building a new community identified by their love for one another (John 13:35). Sin may do real and regular damage to our relationships, but our love for Christ and each other means we keep working. Only when we’re made whole in Christ can we enjoy genuinely healthy relationships with others because only then will we desire to give love as much as we want to receive it since we’ve already been satisfied by the God who created love. Yes, It’s Complicated, but Jesus changes everything.

It's Complicated Sermon Series - Week 1 - 2.14.21