Relational Failure

Today's relationships are as easy to break up as clicking an "UnFriend" button. What have relationships come to that the intimacy and honesty are missing and a vague sense of acquaintance is all we are left with. The sad thing is we take that vague sense of  acquaintance and dress it up with a superficial pleasantries that cater to our emotional need at the time. When needs change, the dress comes off, or we are challenged by actions or words we don't agree with we simply "hit the UnFriend button" and the relationship is over. This has been a constant failure both in my past and in my present time of life. The old song "Breaking up is hard to do" just doesn't apply anymore. We have become callous to the physical, emotional, and spiritual effects of broken relationships. This is an epic failure that we have taken as a norm for today's world. I don't know about you, but I don't want this relational failure in my life!
We take a look at Jesus going to the cross for the reconciliation of our relationship with God. He literally made us friends with God. That word friend falls on us lightly. For us, friend means someone who is like me; same interests, same desires, same direction. A friend has become our "yes" person instead of our "I painfully love you person". Jesus went through the pain, agony, and shame to restore relationship! We tend to go through the pain, agony, and shame only to tear it down.
We are given the ministry of reconciliation. We are to be restorers, not destroyers. Taking our offense or holding to our "rights" will always destroy. We have to see our relationships as more valuable than whatever problem or disagreement is. We have to take of the superficial mask of avoidance that we wear when we say "I forgive you (but don't want to be around you)" and replace it with the authentic forgiveness in light of the cross of Christ.
Today I am more towards the faith department because I put this into practice yesterday when God restored a relationship that had been separated by an unspoken goodbye. As much as I want to be right or to hold onto my offense, division and separation isn't the process that Christ has laid out. Reconciliation, no matter how painful, how agonizing, or how shameful it may seem is always Gods plan when it comes to our relationships.