2021-10-29
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to continue writing on agape love, as it is transmitted in making friends. It might be serendipitous that I am writing this at a time when I have recently made an interstate move to a community where I only knew my family and no one else living there. This is not a new situation for me to be in, as I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Exeter, NJ, to New York City, to Orange County in southern CA, to Stone Mountain GA, to Woodbury, MN, to South Jordan, UT, and now to a community in northern CA (not necessarily in this order) over the course of my life. I also spent time in Hawaii, and both western and eastern Canada years ago. In my past, I travelled to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany, France, and all over England with the need to make friends in all those places. This is the life of an Army brat, who sang in choirs and married an engineer!
Now to the issue at hand. What are the criteria that need to be met in establishing lasting friendships? Let’s start with PR 22: 24-25, “Do not befriend people with hot, violent tempers. You might learn their habits and not be able to change.” This includes people who have this nature as well as people under the influence of drugs or alcohol. One of my rules to live by is never take any substance that affects the mind or body, except when a medical doctor directs and supervises you. A lot of what I’m saying here is given to me by the Holy Spirit. When we learn God’s will in these matters, it will coincide with what a doctor with integrity would advise. PS 103: 10-14, “He (God) does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” From the moment Christ died on the cross and we proclaimed Him our Lord, God has shown us unparalleled compassion.
Our God is a God of second chances. I know this from my own personal experience. And yes, I’ve made mistakes in the process of making friends—sometimes choosing the wrong people or in some way offending a potential friend. I’ve found that surrounding myself with people who share my Christian beliefs helps a lot; that’s why our places of worship are great sources for friends. They are, however, not the only sources. There are times when the Lord puts us together with people outside of our places of worship. An example in my life is my friendship with Norma C. She and I were in grad school together at the University of Oregon. We met even before that at San Francisco State University. Norma spent time in the Navy during my first marriage. Then she returned to OR, where we came together again. We’ve been good friends for over 55 years, having stayed in active contact the whole time. I’ve met people through my son (who is traditionally Jewish) more recently, who have become good friends. God forges all these friendships for His own benefit, which extend to ours. ECCL 4: 9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” We can meet friends through common interests or though the work we do.
A friend is a person who cares about you and helps you during times when things are not ideal. He also loves to share your victories. That person genuinely is there for you. He prays for you and for things which please God. You find yourself praying for his welfare too. A little- known person mentioned in the Bible is Jebez, whose name in Hebrew means “pain.” 1 CH 4: 9-10, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. He mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” His words, “enlarge my territory” meant the same as ‘give me more influence and responsibility in doing God’s work’ here, not that he was asking for more land. Jabez is the kind of person God tells me I should have as a friend. I pray He brings more people like Jabez in my life.
PRAYER: Dearest Father, we look up to You, as any child should to his parents. You bring us the blessing of sweet friendships, ones for Your purpose to mature us as believers in Christ, to familiarize us with Your “Love Letter” (the Bible), and to bring us the pleasures of knowing we are loved. You have told us that friends sometimes love us more than our families do. Indeed, how blessed we are! Friends teach us to further our closeness to You, and friends are there for us when trouble comes. We share good times with friends that make lasting memories. They love us, and we cherish them. You have been generous with Your blessings, and we are grateful. You keep Your promise never to abandon us and “pull us out of the slimy pit” of our worst trials. See PS 9: 9-10, and especially, PS 40: 1-3. We praise and thank You for thoughtfully tending to our care. This prayer is offered in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: One of God’s most beautiful and meaningful expressions of His agape love for us comes in His forgiveness. That will be the subject of next week’s devotion. I would like to briefly relate the story of one of my most trying experiences. Over a very short time, my abdomen began to swell quickly. I looked like I was about to deliver triplets when I came to my doctor’s office. He ordered a CT scan and asked me to see a specialist immediately. That doctor told my husband and I that I had stage 4 ovarian cancer, a malady common in Ashkenazi Jewish women. He recommended a surgeon, who I was to see as quickly as possible. Something stopped me from being afraid, but my greater concern was my husband’s reaction to such news. He was in tears. I got my legal affairs in order, bought a gravesite for both of us, and asked my pastor for an anointing service. Normally, five or six of a person’s closest friends attend, the pastor asks the patient to tell the story of what brought them to this point, and then He anoints the patient with oil. Prayers are said, and the service is over. I was stunned to find 40 people at that service, and an elder from our church read some of the things I had said about having faith. The next day six of my friends with my son and daughter-in-law (who had flown in from out of state) clasped hands around my gurney. Prayers were said in Hebrew and English. I was wheeled into the operating theater for 5 ½ hrs. of surgery. Family and friends waited the whole time not knowing if I would survive. And then, the news came. I had a benign tumor and would make a full recovery! Now I know that God was not through with me yet, and He had protected me through this entire ordeal. My son asked me later why I was smiling when the gurney was being wheeled in for my surgery. Our loving God is why. It took me about one year to fully recover, but throughout that time, He surrounded me with loving friends. One of them even left her home in MI to spend a month taking care of me in MN. God never left my side the whole time! Praise and thanks be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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