The Pastor’s Page
September News Letter
What does it take to create a lasting friendship? The answers will vary depending on whom you ask. Two guys who have been buddies since high school might tell you that lasting friendship requires a unique shared experience that binds you together for a lifetime. Ask three girlfriends who share shopping and coffee together every Saturday and they might say it’s all about having common interests over which you connect. A group of 7-year-old boys might tell you that it helps to have a mutual admiration for all things Spiderman.
But what if you are a person who doesn’t have anyone whom you could call a really close friend? Well, one solution is to rent a friend! A new on-line service, RentAFriend.com, will hook you up with a friend for almost any situation for 10 bucks an hour. Are you in need of a buddy to hang out with at the game, or a local resident to show you around a new city? Are you dying to see a new movie but don’t want to sit by yourself? According to their website, RentAFriend is the answer. And the founder claims business is booming. I think the fact that RentAFriend is doing great business speaks volumes about the world we live in and about human beings in general. We are people who crave companionship. Just think about the popularity of Facebook, which currently has over 800 million active users and the average user has roughly 130 friends.
But the truth is that Facebook friendships and rented friendships are kind of like “Friendship Lite”—compared to the real thing they have just some of the taste and little of the substance. If you asked the average person, “How many friends do you really have?” they aren’t going to put up 130 fingers. No, the truth is that if they have any deep friendships they can probably count them on one hand. Meaningful connections—the kind that take more than clicking “Yes” to a friend request on Facebook or paying 10 bucks an hour—are harder to come by.
In the waning hours of his life on earth Jesus spoke to his closest friends about the kind of connection he longs to see between his disciples. “This is my commandment,” he said, “that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14). Jesus’ great desire is that his church be a place of true, loving friendship. Jesus’ great hope is that his church becomes one place in the world where one’s craving for love and friendship can be satisfied. Hopefully every one of you is experiencing that on some level here at Zion’s Church. But no matter how deeply involved or loosely affiliated you are to your church, being part of God’s family is meant to be more than just a weekly event you attend for an hour or two. Being part of a church family is meant to be something lived out throughout the week in deep connection and close community.
So, how’s that going for you? To put it bluntly, do you have any close friends here at Zion’s Church? Not just faces you know and names you can recite, but people whose lives you share, whose faith encourages you and whose presence comforts you? Jesus offers a beautiful description of what we should be aiming for as a community of faith, and you’re really missing out if you’re only in and out for a fast hour on Sunday mornings. You are missing out on two key ingredients to a fulfilling life: sharing and sacrifice.
Let’s start with sharing. Jesus goes on to say, “I do not call you servants any longer . . . but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). What’s amazing about this statement is that the reason Jesus refers to his followers as his friends is because of what he’s shared with us—some intimate information about God. In revealing the gospel to us, and doing so free of cost with no strings attached, Jesus has revealed to us the very heart of God. This is the kind of thing you would only do with family and friends whom you deeply love. In the same way, in living as God’s people, we are called by our Lord to connect deeply with others, and we can’t do that without pursuing deep relationships of significant sharing.
The second key ingredient to a fulfilling, happy life is sacrifice. Jesus could not be clearer about this. In a community of true friendship and love—the kind Jesus wants us to be—friends will readily give their lives for one another. Sure, there are not going to be many opportunities to literally take a bullet for your friends, but sacrifice happens in all kinds of ways. It’s an attitude that says, “I love you more than I love myself.” A true friend is someone who keeps your preferences in mind, who passes on what they want in order to offer what you need. Are we at Zion’s the kind of community Jesus wants? Are we sharing? Are we sacrificing? Do we love one another as Christ calls us to love?
If we’re honest, the answer must be “no.” Truth is, this is something we’ll never be perfect at and can always improve at. Frankly, you may not have a great friend in this place, and you may not be a great friend in this place, but what you first need to know is that Christ is always your friend in this place. He has shared with you the very heart of God, making known his heart of love and grace that freely flows from his sacrifice for you on the cross. In Jesus you have a friend who has taken a beating for you, was bruised, bloodied, and murdered for you. What a friend you have in Jesus! You’ve been forgiven every sin both great and small. Rest on that. Dwell on that. And in light of that, seek to be the kind of friend that’s radically shaped by that.
Skeptical? Well, there’s only one way to find out. Take up Jesus’ invitation. Share your life even more deeply with your friends here at Zion’s Church. Sacrifice yourself for someone around you. Try it and see. If it doesn’t work out, well there’s always Facebook and RentAFriend. But the love and friendship of Jesus and your church family is so much better!
But what if you are a person who doesn’t have anyone whom you could call a really close friend? Well, one solution is to rent a friend! A new on-line service, RentAFriend.com, will hook you up with a friend for almost any situation for 10 bucks an hour. Are you in need of a buddy to hang out with at the game, or a local resident to show you around a new city? Are you dying to see a new movie but don’t want to sit by yourself? According to their website, RentAFriend is the answer. And the founder claims business is booming. I think the fact that RentAFriend is doing great business speaks volumes about the world we live in and about human beings in general. We are people who crave companionship. Just think about the popularity of Facebook, which currently has over 800 million active users and the average user has roughly 130 friends.
But the truth is that Facebook friendships and rented friendships are kind of like “Friendship Lite”—compared to the real thing they have just some of the taste and little of the substance. If you asked the average person, “How many friends do you really have?” they aren’t going to put up 130 fingers. No, the truth is that if they have any deep friendships they can probably count them on one hand. Meaningful connections—the kind that take more than clicking “Yes” to a friend request on Facebook or paying 10 bucks an hour—are harder to come by.
In the waning hours of his life on earth Jesus spoke to his closest friends about the kind of connection he longs to see between his disciples. “This is my commandment,” he said, “that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14). Jesus’ great desire is that his church be a place of true, loving friendship. Jesus’ great hope is that his church becomes one place in the world where one’s craving for love and friendship can be satisfied. Hopefully every one of you is experiencing that on some level here at Zion’s Church. But no matter how deeply involved or loosely affiliated you are to your church, being part of God’s family is meant to be more than just a weekly event you attend for an hour or two. Being part of a church family is meant to be something lived out throughout the week in deep connection and close community.
So, how’s that going for you? To put it bluntly, do you have any close friends here at Zion’s Church? Not just faces you know and names you can recite, but people whose lives you share, whose faith encourages you and whose presence comforts you? Jesus offers a beautiful description of what we should be aiming for as a community of faith, and you’re really missing out if you’re only in and out for a fast hour on Sunday mornings. You are missing out on two key ingredients to a fulfilling life: sharing and sacrifice.
Let’s start with sharing. Jesus goes on to say, “I do not call you servants any longer . . . but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). What’s amazing about this statement is that the reason Jesus refers to his followers as his friends is because of what he’s shared with us—some intimate information about God. In revealing the gospel to us, and doing so free of cost with no strings attached, Jesus has revealed to us the very heart of God. This is the kind of thing you would only do with family and friends whom you deeply love. In the same way, in living as God’s people, we are called by our Lord to connect deeply with others, and we can’t do that without pursuing deep relationships of significant sharing.
The second key ingredient to a fulfilling, happy life is sacrifice. Jesus could not be clearer about this. In a community of true friendship and love—the kind Jesus wants us to be—friends will readily give their lives for one another. Sure, there are not going to be many opportunities to literally take a bullet for your friends, but sacrifice happens in all kinds of ways. It’s an attitude that says, “I love you more than I love myself.” A true friend is someone who keeps your preferences in mind, who passes on what they want in order to offer what you need. Are we at Zion’s the kind of community Jesus wants? Are we sharing? Are we sacrificing? Do we love one another as Christ calls us to love?
If we’re honest, the answer must be “no.” Truth is, this is something we’ll never be perfect at and can always improve at. Frankly, you may not have a great friend in this place, and you may not be a great friend in this place, but what you first need to know is that Christ is always your friend in this place. He has shared with you the very heart of God, making known his heart of love and grace that freely flows from his sacrifice for you on the cross. In Jesus you have a friend who has taken a beating for you, was bruised, bloodied, and murdered for you. What a friend you have in Jesus! You’ve been forgiven every sin both great and small. Rest on that. Dwell on that. And in light of that, seek to be the kind of friend that’s radically shaped by that.
Skeptical? Well, there’s only one way to find out. Take up Jesus’ invitation. Share your life even more deeply with your friends here at Zion’s Church. Sacrifice yourself for someone around you. Try it and see. If it doesn’t work out, well there’s always Facebook and RentAFriend. But the love and friendship of Jesus and your church family is so much better!
