christmas and friends
If one were to take a look at my life and name the number one blessing which God has continously poured into my life, it would be friendship. Everyday I learn more about friends and I learn more about myself and I learn more about God.
Tonight, I share with you about one particular friendship. I wish I could have a video camera taping me when I am around this particular friend. He is many years younger than me and for many years now I have looked on him as a brother and as someone I needed to be an example to. This friendship has allowed me to be more honest and open with him, than perhaps I have been with any other friendship ever. It is an incredibly powerful friendship.
I shame myself in this friendship however, because in addition to being the best example of Christ that I can be, trying to guide him towards a life of growth in the Spirit, I have also been a friend who has held his hand directly into sin. It's a terrible and odd place to be. I look at these times and decisions and I wonder what I was thinking and why I would allow such decisions to be made. Nonetheless, they have been.
This friendship reminds me a lot of the purpose of Christmas. On Christmas, we celebrate the life of our Savior, who more than anything else was a master at loving and making friends. He wasn't just around for those moments when his buddies were Christ-like and amazing leaders, but when they made stupid decisions. He shared every embarassing and shameful moment with his disciples. I realized this when thinking about this friendship because we have both amazing conversations where God speaks to both of us, through both of us, and we have moments where we allow our sinful natures to take over, but in the end there is a bond in us that has developed over years of a friendship solidly grounded in Christ; a bond that has been solidified by years of praying for each other. Even in our most shameful and lowest moments we can still look at each other and thank our Lord for using every moment of our lives as a testimony to His greatness.
On the night of Christ's birth, there was sin in the world and there were people at their most shameful points, but Christ has forgiven us of those moments, and it is on this day that we should be reminded of that great power that even we cannot destroy.
Tonight, I share with you about one particular friendship. I wish I could have a video camera taping me when I am around this particular friend. He is many years younger than me and for many years now I have looked on him as a brother and as someone I needed to be an example to. This friendship has allowed me to be more honest and open with him, than perhaps I have been with any other friendship ever. It is an incredibly powerful friendship.
I shame myself in this friendship however, because in addition to being the best example of Christ that I can be, trying to guide him towards a life of growth in the Spirit, I have also been a friend who has held his hand directly into sin. It's a terrible and odd place to be. I look at these times and decisions and I wonder what I was thinking and why I would allow such decisions to be made. Nonetheless, they have been.
This friendship reminds me a lot of the purpose of Christmas. On Christmas, we celebrate the life of our Savior, who more than anything else was a master at loving and making friends. He wasn't just around for those moments when his buddies were Christ-like and amazing leaders, but when they made stupid decisions. He shared every embarassing and shameful moment with his disciples. I realized this when thinking about this friendship because we have both amazing conversations where God speaks to both of us, through both of us, and we have moments where we allow our sinful natures to take over, but in the end there is a bond in us that has developed over years of a friendship solidly grounded in Christ; a bond that has been solidified by years of praying for each other. Even in our most shameful and lowest moments we can still look at each other and thank our Lord for using every moment of our lives as a testimony to His greatness.
On the night of Christ's birth, there was sin in the world and there were people at their most shameful points, but Christ has forgiven us of those moments, and it is on this day that we should be reminded of that great power that even we cannot destroy.
posted by Michael Anthony | 8:28 PM
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