God has created us to be social creatures, each one of us having different traits, likes, and dislikes that make us unique so that we all have something to contribute to the body of Christ. He has placed us where He has so that we can function by our design - to build relationships with others and with Him to bring glory to His kingdom. I thank God every day for the friends He has allowed me to have during my time on earth, and quite honestly, I don't know what I would do without them. But I have also come to a realization that I think God has tried to show me more than once before. I realized I've started relying more on the companionship of my friends than on my relationship with God.
Yep, there ya go. Plain and simple, right? You would think that would be something that is pretty obvious when it's happening. But in reality, you get into the flow of your every day schedule with the set times that you're doing your set activities; and in my world, a lot of my set activities have to do with time spent with friends. In looking at my schedule during any given week, I probably spend on average 10 hours a day with my friends. 10 hours! That's over half my day, not including the time I'm sleeping, in class, or at work. When this finally hit me, I realized there was a big part of my life (at least about 10 hours a day) that was devoid of time spent with God. I began to see all the areas where I was counting on my friends to eat lunch with me, walk to class with me, text me all day long, do homework together, and spend our free time together. While it's good that we can have friends to have fun with, confide in, and find joy in relationships with, God did not intend for that to be all there is.
God's intention for friendships was to be a human extension of our relationship with Him, not a replacement for time spent with Him with the excuse that if they're Christian friends it's almost like spending time with God while we're with them. No. That's not how it works. Sorry if that bursts your bubble. God is so jealous of our hearts that it tears Him apart when He sees us counting on our friends more than we look to Him. It's such an easy thing to do because our friends are right here standing next to us, watching the things happen in our lives in such a tangible way. What we often forget is that God, too, is standing right next to us already knowing what's going to happen and what needs to be done to take care of it.
Friends are going to come and go. They're going to be on your side one day, and against you the next. They may answer your text messages for awhile, but there will come a time when they are going to get caught up in the craziness of their own lives that they won't be as available to you. God never leaves, He's walking with us always. He is always on our side and is fighting constantly for our lives. Every little prayer we send His way gets a reply, no matter what time of day it is or how many He's receiving at once.
I'm not saying we shouldn't have friends. Rather, we should have a relationship with God so strong that our friends are just an added bonus.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Doing the UNpopular Thing
In the past few weeks I thought I was facing conflict and opposition simply because I was creating it without knowing; but as time went on and I couldn't find answers to what I was doing to cause it, God started to show me something I haven't really had to experience too much of yet.
In Paul's epistles (Romans - 2 Timothy) a common theme is that being a Christian is going to cause you to be up against a lot of opposition. By committing to your faith in Christ, you are committing to serving Him despite it being the unpopular thing to do. This was something that was taught to me during my years at MCA, but it was never really something I had to truly embrace until I left my little "MCA Bubble" and ventured into the world of a public university.
I'm not saying that everyone at UW-River Falls is against Christianity. And I'm not saying that the Christians I've grown to know almost like family are any less of Christians than the ones that I grew up around at MCA. What I am saying is that there is a lot more opposition and inconsistency with so many different backgrounds all coming together. As I've come to discover the parts of my faith that are unshakeable, I'm beginning to realize that the way I intend to live my life out for Christ is not going to be the way that others see fit. I understand the truth that God convicts us all of different things, and there are certain struggles that are harder for some to overcome than others. But I also understand that the Word of God is unfallible truth and was breathed into existence by an unchanging, sovereign God.
These past few days I have had a constant craving to be in conversation with God constantly, something that is not so easy when you're in classes or at work all day long. But I am also beginning to understand the way God sees us and how His heart breaks for those who don't long to be with Him forever, no matter the consequences. That feeling, that understanding, makes the time that I long to be with Him a result of the intense desire I have for all the people I know to have a relationship with God the way I do. My heart has literally been breaking for those people, especially the ones I'm close to; and even though it's a whole lot more fun to be well-liked and to have friends, I believe with all my heart that being disliked, alone, and maybe even hated can sometimes be the best thing for us, our faith, and eventually the eternal lives that others are going to experience.
In the end, Jesus looks back at all of us and says his sacrifice has been justified (Is 53:10-11). As a follower of Christ, it is my choice to give of myself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) so that His name may live on and become the stronghold for all of God's glorious creation. When I look back, I want to be able to see that God's name has been glorified above all else and be praised as being faithful to what God called me to do rather than going along with what the world says is popular.
In Paul's epistles (Romans - 2 Timothy) a common theme is that being a Christian is going to cause you to be up against a lot of opposition. By committing to your faith in Christ, you are committing to serving Him despite it being the unpopular thing to do. This was something that was taught to me during my years at MCA, but it was never really something I had to truly embrace until I left my little "MCA Bubble" and ventured into the world of a public university.
I'm not saying that everyone at UW-River Falls is against Christianity. And I'm not saying that the Christians I've grown to know almost like family are any less of Christians than the ones that I grew up around at MCA. What I am saying is that there is a lot more opposition and inconsistency with so many different backgrounds all coming together. As I've come to discover the parts of my faith that are unshakeable, I'm beginning to realize that the way I intend to live my life out for Christ is not going to be the way that others see fit. I understand the truth that God convicts us all of different things, and there are certain struggles that are harder for some to overcome than others. But I also understand that the Word of God is unfallible truth and was breathed into existence by an unchanging, sovereign God.
These past few days I have had a constant craving to be in conversation with God constantly, something that is not so easy when you're in classes or at work all day long. But I am also beginning to understand the way God sees us and how His heart breaks for those who don't long to be with Him forever, no matter the consequences. That feeling, that understanding, makes the time that I long to be with Him a result of the intense desire I have for all the people I know to have a relationship with God the way I do. My heart has literally been breaking for those people, especially the ones I'm close to; and even though it's a whole lot more fun to be well-liked and to have friends, I believe with all my heart that being disliked, alone, and maybe even hated can sometimes be the best thing for us, our faith, and eventually the eternal lives that others are going to experience.
In the end, Jesus looks back at all of us and says his sacrifice has been justified (Is 53:10-11). As a follower of Christ, it is my choice to give of myself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) so that His name may live on and become the stronghold for all of God's glorious creation. When I look back, I want to be able to see that God's name has been glorified above all else and be praised as being faithful to what God called me to do rather than going along with what the world says is popular.
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