John 15:15
New International Version
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
I once heard on a country western song, ‘friends forgive each other’s sins’. Although it’s a little irreverent, (only God can forgive sins), there is a lot of truth in that.
Jesus said we are friends. If this were not so, he wouldn’t share things with us.
This week I was fortunate to be able to spend time in the states. I initially had a business meeting with my friend Mark Petschel, who owns a buying club called TRUmendous. It is a start up company that plans on sending part of it’s profit to us for the children. Afterwards, I got to visit with friends that support us. I even got to do a little work while I was at it. Don’t you just love to work until you sweat sometimes? I love it, especially when you are doing it with your friend. Friends bear each other’s burdens. Friends intervene when they see their buddies suffer. Enoch was God’s friend. God spared Enoch a lot of grief.
Genesis 5:24
New International Version
Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
My time in Florida was spectacular. Friends can be better than family in a lot of ways. They are like adopted family. I like to call them family that you choose. You choose them, and they choose you. They want to be with you, and sacrifice to do so. You know that you are not an inconvenience. They go out of their way to be with you, if at all possible. Ideally, friends and family should be the same, but many times they are not. Friends forgive, friends don’t judge. Even if you agree to disagree, they aren’t critical. They forget the negative things of the past. They are fun to talk to and to hang around with. As shown even in the case of Enoch, friends are fun to walk with.
Like I said, I got to work with a good friend. A Godly man. We all work. Missionaries work. Workmen work. Moms work. Salesmen work. Thequestion is: Do you work with your friends, or are your co-workers not your friends? The answer is that Jesus is your friend. Work for Jesus and you will enjoy whatever you do.
I love to work with friends. It is fun to work with people that you love, and that love you. Friends work with us to support the staff and children here. They say that the person that loves what he does, doesn’t ‘work’ a day in his life. Working with my friends to bless others is fun. Connecting with friends, fundraising for missions etc. can seem like work, to the person who doesn’t understand this concept. It isn’t easy when you need to see lot of friends in a short period of time. But it isn’t work, if you are enjoying yourself.
I didn’t have enough money to rent a car. When you are visiting a state where you have lots of friends, people want to see you; you try, but when you are depending on other people for a ride, for lodging, for food, it makes everything difficult. A good friend (and excellent cook btw) offered her home as a base camp. Those who could, visited me and picked me up. Those that couldn’t, at least knew I was available.
God is our friend, as Jesus says in John 15. I look forward to spending eternity with my friends and my best friend, Jesus.
I love working with and for my friends. It doesn’t matter how distasteful or hard it is. If it is with my friends I love working. If it is to make a friend successful, even more so. I think it is the same with God. He loves the relationship with us. He loves to see us struggling, and then looking to Him for help. Whatever we do, no matter how mean the people we work with are to us, we can lovewhat we are doing. Because we are working with our best friend, Jesus.
Colossians 3:17
New International Version
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Dean