Friendship.
Close fellowship.
Someone who “has your back.”
We all long for at least one good friend who is going to be like this in our lives. Someone who knows us. Someone that we know will say what they mean and mean what they say in how they love and support us.
However, it is heartbreaking when a “friend” talks about how close they are to us, how much they support us, how much they are for us, and how much they care, but then do all they can to avoid standing up for us, join in on complaints and gossip, or water down our character to come across as more appealing to the crowd they are with at the time, but then still continue to talk about how much they love us, that we’re a close friend, and how much we’ve gone through life together.
I would say that person is not really a close, reliable, trustworthy, faithful friend!
I can’t help but think…how much and how often have we done the same thing to Jesus?
Jesus LIVED for us! Jesus DIED for us! He defended others who were a hot mess. He brought value into their lives.
He does the same for us.
So shouldn’t we do the same for him when we claim we are a Christian and talk about how much we love him, how he’s our close friend? We claim deep trust and genuine fellowship with God.
Yet, in our culture today, we water down the message of God. We downplay salvation every time we lessen those things that we need saving from. Yes, we are saved by grace. But by not living in relationship with him the best we can, by turning a blind eye and deaf ear to what matters to him, we throw his grace and our friendship with him out the window. We’re a culture of careless, insincere friends when we do this.
When we water down the Word of God, we water down what grace is really all about. Grace is not about extending moral lines to what we can get away with. As we draw nearer in relationship to God, we don’t desire to do what we can apart from him, while still being saved. When you truly love your friend and are grateful for all they’ve done, do you seek out all the things you can get away with? Or do you do all you can to be a great friend in return?
If we truly want to show grace and love for unsaved people, watering down God’s message doesn’t do anyone any favors. As a friend of Jesus, don’t we want to be a better friend to someone who did everything for us? And if we want the same for others, don’t we want to equip them with the best possible armor, tools, and supplies for the journey? Don’t we want to use those tools ourselves? YES!!!
Jesus is the most faithful friend there is. Let’s charge ourselves to continually ask, “Am I a faithful friend back?”
Robyn lives in Oregon with her husband and two kids where they enjoy making memories. She is passionate about bringing women together to laugh, cry, and enrich one another in their God-given gifts and unique design! Robyn loves coffee, trying new food, being with friends, and creating projects and moments. She has booklets, journals, and a podcast channel available online.
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