Yesterday I was listening to a sermon on the Cedarville College radio station. I honestly do not remember much about the sermon, but I do remember the minister talking about us having a better relationship with Christ and it got me thinking a little about how our relationships with other humans can compare to our relationships with Christ.
Lets look at some of the things that are common about making new friends and/or maintaining long term friendships. I am going to use some of my current friends as examples ( I hope none of you mind ).
Dave and Robin Hinman, and my buddy Rae!!!!
Last night Diana and I had our Annual get together with the Hinmans!! I guess this is what ultimately got me started on this topic. As we sat there talking to them, and catching up with what seemed like a year and a half of events. It occurred to me that we do not meet with Dave and Robin often enough and that every time we leave our meetings with them it always leaves me wanting to spend more time with them! I have known the Hinmans for over 30 years, and my wife she has only had the pleasure of knowing them for the last 7 of those years, but it is awesome that she shares my appreciation for not only their friendship, but also their Christian influence.
Danny and Danielle Vinson
So a little over a year ago my wife Diana and I had met up with our friends Danny and Danielle Vinson. I had never met either one of them. Danielle had started showing us some houses, and we had been meeting up a couple of times a week to look at houses. After a couple of months had past, we all decided to get together for a cookout. This was the first time that Danny and I had met. Danielle and Diana had known each other since High School. Danny and I became friends instantly. We both have similar interests in careers, movies, video games, education, and most importantly Christ. As we started hanging out with them, we found ourselves wanting to hang out with them more and more, and wanting to know more and more about them.
Fred and Karen Schlicter
Much like Danny and Danielle, Diana and I had met Karen before we met Fred. We had met Karen at Village Christian Schools when Julie was going to school there. A year or so later we were at Julie's soccer practice and ran into both Fred and Karen, and again much like the last couple Fred and I became friends instantly and once again we have been finding ways to hang out with them more and more!
This list could go on and on and on over the last couple of years! Jared and Christine Taylor, Danny and Sarah Simpson, Jeremy and Patty Simpson..... I mean we have made a lot of wonderful friends the last couple of years, but trust me there is a bigger point here than how many friends we have made over the last couple of years.
After dinner last night, I really thought to myself "Man I wish we had more time with Dave and Robin". It seems like 2 hours once or twice a year is a huge injustice to our friendship!
With that said, is that how Christ must feel about us sometimes? That us only spending a couple of hours once or twice a month is such a huge disgrace to the relationship he wants with us?
Jesus gave a sacrifice of Himself that we could never repay in a million lifetimes, yet we often find it difficult to make a conscience effort to just spend an hour a day with him, or maybe an hour every other day.
I find myself often putting off "Jesus time" for either sleep or for TV/XBOX time. Very often to be honest, but as of late that has changed.
The big question is do I do that for my earthly friends? No! If a friend calls and says hey let's meet up for dinner. I say "ok, what time?". That is a normal response. BUT when it is up to me to schedule "Jesus time", I find myself procrastinating more than I do with anything else!
Jesus is THE FRIEND! Jesus is the Friend of all Friends! He cares about you more than any other friend that you know now, or that you will meet in the future! He loves you enough that He sacrificed Himself on a cross for you! He wants you to be close to Him and to know Him better than you know yourself! He wants you to be His friend! He wants a loving committed friendship with you each and everyday and if you have given your heart to Him and asked Him to be the Lord of your life their is a desire in your heart right this very minute saying "Jesus, I want that! I want what Scott is talking about here! I want You to be my friend. I want to be Your friend! I want to be closer to You, can You please show me how to be closer to You?"
This is a new step for me throwing out my phone number on the world wide web, but I am feeling led by God to do so! If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and if my blog has spoken to you in some way and you want to make that committment that will change your life forever, please feel free to call me and I will pray with you and walk you through it. Even if you have already been saved and just need someone to pray for you, I am here for that too! 513-628-3560
Have a blessed day! Jesus loves you, and so do I!
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