Proverbs 18:24
There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
In my personal reading and study, I almost always use one of two translations of the Bible: the English Standard Version or the New Living Translation. When I read this passage, I was using the NLT (which is printed above). Although the ESV is a newer translation, the NLT is more "modern"; and that impacted the way that I read this verse.
In this passage, the NLT uses quotation marks in "...'friends' who destroy each other..." as a modern, tongue-in-cheek way of indicating that friends who destroy each other are not really friends at all. I think we have all witnessed that in one way or another; whether you have experienced that firsthand or not. We've all seen friendships that were based on something temporary and trivial implode, but we've also seen two people, who seemed to be great friends, slowly drift apart and then proceed to start tearing each other apart, whether with words, physical actions, or attitudes.
So what is a real friend? What does that sort of relationship look like?
To me, a real friend, someone who is in my 'core' group of friends knows more of you than you would ever show to a casual acquaintance. For me, a real friend is someone who is more than a casual acquaintance that also happens to be nice, fun, and trustworthy. A real friend is someone I have intimacy with, someone I can count on in all situations, and someone who knows and believes in my character and values enough to stand up for them. (Maybe this is why I've always had a very small, quality group of close friends...)
If you identify with my description of my real friends, you know how important they are; how awesome it is to have a real friend. From what I know about God's character and from what I've read in His Word, I fully believe that God wants us to have real friends. I also believe that if we are Christian, we should emulate the character of God and we should want other people to have real friends too.
We see people every day in our schools, jobs, and families that could benefit greatly from having a real friend. It's time for us to step up and be that friend.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Hurt at Home
Matthew 5:44-45
Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.
Recently, our small groups have been talking about persecution. Persecution is something that we usually associate with foreign countries, so I want to look at it a little closer to home.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he was persecuted in His own country and by His own people. As Christians, we are called to act as Christ did; to literally be 'little Christs'. So, to me, if we're doing our job and acting as Christ acted, we should probably expect the same treatment Christ received.
If we take a look at recent headlines, we see Church burnings, shootings, and illustrations of the growing prejudice against Christians in our country. Whether the methods involve intimidation or violence, the intent is to prevent Christianity from spreading.
Persecution is a daily occurrence in this country, and although it is not always as severe as some of the stories that we hear from around the world, the frequency and severity seem to be increasing.
More and more we are told where we can display scriptures and religious symbols, prayer is often frowned upon or even prohibited in public, and the word 'Christmas' is increasingly replaced by 'holiday'.
With all that said, you may be surprised to learn that I think a good deal of this is our fault. You see, by standing around and watching these events occur, we tell the world that our freedom of religious expression is not important to us. Every time shop at a 'holiday' sale, we're telling retailers that we don’t care whether they call it Christmas or not. And, every time we are too weak or scarred to start a prayer group or Bible study in our school or office, we're saying "You might as well ban Bible studies, because none of us care enough to start one anyway."
The good news about this struggle is this: The outcome is clear; God wins and no one can stop him. In the mean time, we have two choices: we can let the persecution, name calling, and nasty looks bother us, we can quit praying when we go out to eat, we can keep our Christianity a secret and just slide by, or we can hold our heads high, stand firm, and use persecution as a means to share our faith and grow the Kingdom.
It's really your choice. Either way, we’re going to be persecuted. But, for us, I don't think it should be not about the persecution that we endure, but about how we use that persecution as a means to love people into a relationship with Christ.
Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.
Recently, our small groups have been talking about persecution. Persecution is something that we usually associate with foreign countries, so I want to look at it a little closer to home.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he was persecuted in His own country and by His own people. As Christians, we are called to act as Christ did; to literally be 'little Christs'. So, to me, if we're doing our job and acting as Christ acted, we should probably expect the same treatment Christ received.
If we take a look at recent headlines, we see Church burnings, shootings, and illustrations of the growing prejudice against Christians in our country. Whether the methods involve intimidation or violence, the intent is to prevent Christianity from spreading.
Persecution is a daily occurrence in this country, and although it is not always as severe as some of the stories that we hear from around the world, the frequency and severity seem to be increasing.
More and more we are told where we can display scriptures and religious symbols, prayer is often frowned upon or even prohibited in public, and the word 'Christmas' is increasingly replaced by 'holiday'.
With all that said, you may be surprised to learn that I think a good deal of this is our fault. You see, by standing around and watching these events occur, we tell the world that our freedom of religious expression is not important to us. Every time shop at a 'holiday' sale, we're telling retailers that we don’t care whether they call it Christmas or not. And, every time we are too weak or scarred to start a prayer group or Bible study in our school or office, we're saying "You might as well ban Bible studies, because none of us care enough to start one anyway."
The good news about this struggle is this: The outcome is clear; God wins and no one can stop him. In the mean time, we have two choices: we can let the persecution, name calling, and nasty looks bother us, we can quit praying when we go out to eat, we can keep our Christianity a secret and just slide by, or we can hold our heads high, stand firm, and use persecution as a means to share our faith and grow the Kingdom.
It's really your choice. Either way, we’re going to be persecuted. But, for us, I don't think it should be not about the persecution that we endure, but about how we use that persecution as a means to love people into a relationship with Christ.
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