Backwards Friendship
Backwards Friendship
by Nikitah Luse on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 9:30pm
Has anyone ever wondered what is wrong with our friendships today? Why is being friends with even a Christian so difficult?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately through conversations with friends and all that. I finally sat down and wrote out some stuff that I had observed in friendships in the Bible. Really, there is only one friendship that I found that seems to reveal what is missing in our relationships- that of David and Jonathan. What was so special about them? Well, it's really amazing what we find.
1. Their friendship wasn't based on common likes or dislikes, but on one thing only- God!
2. God (or LORD) was a common word in their everyday conversations!
Wow. Think about it. How often do we discuss God when we meet up with our friends for a casual chit chat? How often is even HIS NAME inserted in ANY of our conversations?
The above begs the question: do we really care about the other person? Do we really care if we are not concerned about where they are in their spiritual life? Do we encourage them in it? Do we pray for them AND with them? And is this kind of conversation so familiar that it is like the spiritual life melts in and blends with our "real" life, seamlessly- as if there were no beginning and no end?
What would our relationships be like if we were so totally focused on each other's walk with God? Wouldn't it be cool to just be able to link emotionally and spiritually with the other person? And wouldn't it be wonderful if our language was just full of the words that our Father loves: God, Jesus, Love, Heaven, Prayer, Lord.....
Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was no longer awkward to ask, "So how is your spiritual walk today?"
I think it would be.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately through conversations with friends and all that. I finally sat down and wrote out some stuff that I had observed in friendships in the Bible. Really, there is only one friendship that I found that seems to reveal what is missing in our relationships- that of David and Jonathan. What was so special about them? Well, it's really amazing what we find.
1. Their friendship wasn't based on common likes or dislikes, but on one thing only- God!
2. God (or LORD) was a common word in their everyday conversations!
Wow. Think about it. How often do we discuss God when we meet up with our friends for a casual chit chat? How often is even HIS NAME inserted in ANY of our conversations?
The above begs the question: do we really care about the other person? Do we really care if we are not concerned about where they are in their spiritual life? Do we encourage them in it? Do we pray for them AND with them? And is this kind of conversation so familiar that it is like the spiritual life melts in and blends with our "real" life, seamlessly- as if there were no beginning and no end?
What would our relationships be like if we were so totally focused on each other's walk with God? Wouldn't it be cool to just be able to link emotionally and spiritually with the other person? And wouldn't it be wonderful if our language was just full of the words that our Father loves: God, Jesus, Love, Heaven, Prayer, Lord.....
Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was no longer awkward to ask, "So how is your spiritual walk today?"
I think it would be.
This is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAll glory to God! He knows our weaknesses as humans. :)
ReplyDelete