True Friendship

"That's what true friendship does; it humbles you with it's love."

I said that to a friend awhile ago and it has resonated with me ever since. Think about that for a minute...true friendship humbles you with it's love. Examine your friendships. Do you have any friendships in which there is so much mutual affection and love that it humbles you? That it makes you feel so unworthy but utterly thankful to God for blessing you with that person? The better question is do you make anyone feel like that? Do you love any of your friends so purely, selflessly, and Christ-like that they feel overwhelmed and humbled by your love? If not...why? What is preventing you from loving like that? Is it laziness? Is it selfishness? Is it fear?

I know for me it is fear. It's fear that I am going to open myself up and put myself out there and then I am going to be rejected. Fear that I am going to put so much effort into something and practically kill myself investing in someone who is going to just suck the life out of me by taking, taking, and more taking without giving anything. Not that I'm in relationships for what people give me, but there comes a point when one can't give any more without having something put in. It's like a bank - there is only so much you can take out of your account without depositing anything before the account is overdrawn. My eyes have been opened lately to how people treat one another. I've watched interactions between my friends and other people and I'm blown away with how little respect and honor we treat one another with. We so often taken one another for granted, just expecting that it won't matter because the other person is always going to be there. I think we forget how short life can be and priceless each moment with a friend or loved one is. We forget that in John 13:35 Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." If I were to take an honest evaluation of my relationships and look at how my friend and I interact with one another...I don't know that outsiders looking in would always know that we are disciples of Jesus. If one were to ask us, we would have a lot of excuses...I was only kidding...I'm tired...I'm out of it...I have a lot on my mind...I'm busy...I'm stressed. I've said these kinds of things before myself. But honestly....it doesn't matter. There is never an excuse for not loving someone. There is never an excuse for being rude and selfish. There is never an excuse for treating anyone, especially those you love, as though they don't matter. We should never be too busy, too stressed, too tired, too whatever to show the love of Jesus in every interaction.We should take every opportunity to let those around us know how much we value them.

We do this in the little things. Initiating conversation. Being genuinely interested in what the other person is saying. Being more concerned about other's welfare than the bad day we've just had or the ten million things on our never-ending to do list. Calling just to say hi. Following up on the issues going on in other's lives. We must get outside of ourselves and see others as more important than ourselves. And we can't just spout the rhetoric...we have to follow through with actions.The challenge is this: examine your heart. See what it is that is keeping you from loving the people in your life in a way that humbles them. See what it is that is causing you to be lazy, selfish, or fearful and ask God to remove that from your life. Ask Him to change your heart so that you can love others as He has loved you. Make an intentional effort this week to humble someone with your love.
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35