He told me to tell you that
In John 15:15 Jesus says He’s my friend. To be honest I don’t even know what that means. Why does the creator and sustainer of all things want to be my friend? We are told in Proverbs 27:9 that, “ Just as lotions and fragrance (think Bed, Bath & Beyond) give delight, a sweet friendship refreshes soul.
I’m a little like Martin Luther King, Jr. What I mean is I have a dream too. My dream is that as Christians we should stop trying to put prayer back in school or getting a copy of the 10 commandments in every public building. What if we decided to befriend people and be a sweet friend that refreshed others
People in our community are looking for Jesus. I want to be like Jesus and help bridge that relational gap between Abba Father and the culture. This happens not as we look down on others but rather as we create space and environments that are friendly and conducive for spiritual experiences (the Gospel), growth and transformation.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll said, “ God has put a desire in the human heart to know and to be known, to love and to be loved. We all have to desire to have community the way it is portrayed in the television sitcom “ Cheers,” a place “ where everybody knows your name.” It’s j ust too bad that song is about a neighborhood bar and not about the neighborhood church.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “ You can get by without friends but you can’t really live without friends.” People 40 years ago said they had at least three hardcore friends outside of their family. Now the average is down to two and 25 percent of people say they have no hardcore friends outside of their family.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports, “ Many of our daily conversations are actually mutual counseling sessions whereby we exchange the reassurance and advice that helps us deal with routine stresses.”
I was blessed the other day by a woman who came e the church office looning for help. We talked about her need for Jesus, she said, “ Thanks but no thanks.” We gave her some money for gas and offered a bag of groceries, but she shared that her pantry was full but then she blessed me. She asked me if I had a psychology degree. I told her no but asked her why she was asking. She replied, “ I feel like we j ust had a session.” I asked, “ Was it a good session To which she said, Oh, yes.
Sometimes we j ust need a session, and by God’s design our friends can provide us with that session. Just as lotions and fragrances provide us with delight, our friends (and Jesus too) refresh our souls. He told me to tell you that.
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