Do I have any Friends?

We live in a relationally starved culture today. Most of us are just skimming through the relational jungle never really landing in deep and intimate conversations that matter in the long run. We stay on the surface and just breeze right past the real needs, hurts, and issues that many of us are carrying and facing. How many of us have true friendships? The running joke in our house is that I don't really have any friends. We always laugh about that because I give Erin a hard time for talking on the phone countless times to the same person or visiting someone two or three times a week, all day. She simply remarks, "just because I have friends and you don't, don't give me a hard time." That always brings a laugh from both of us. I just think I am not as invested as much in my friends as Erin is. Just don't make time for it.

It got me to thinking though. How many friends do I have that do not have a church home or are far from God? After all God wants to use our relationships and those people that he has brought into our life to help them grow closer to him. If I don't know anyone that doesn't know God how will I ever be able to help people who are far from God find him? I think that this is one of the reasons I love coaching my kids teams so much. Not only does it give me a chance to spend time with my kids but it gives me an avenue to build relationships with folk I normally wouldn't know. It gives me an "in" into peoples lives. Coaching tears down walls and barriers and builds instant relationship. For an introverted guy like me that is huge! I just hope and pray that these families see the love that I have for Jesus in the way I love their kids and them.

Everyday there are chances and opportunities for me to love and build relationships with folk who don't know God. I am asking myself today how often I take the opportunity to do just that. As you walk through your day today take a moment with everyone you come across to plant a seed of love. You never know what God will do to water it and how it might just grow in their life. In Community with you,
Your Dreaming Pastor