How does a friend love another
friend? To be honest, I was actually stuck with this idea for quite a few
years. Because I would like to think about it in a Christian’s perspective. And
it seems that I can’t find the appropriate answer even though I had my own speculation.
And it’s somehow amazing that as I went to bed just now, somehow there is an
answer lingering at the edge of my mind and whispering to me and making me
wanting to wake up and here I am, writing it down.
A more accurate title, how does
a Christian love a friend? First, I had doubts for years because I see
different ways of showing love by different people. And I couldn't help but to
feel uneasy with some of the action. It actually broke my heart to see people compromise
God for friend. They had put friend prior to God. And the reason they gave me
is that it could be one of the ways to bring their friends to God? Examples,
people chose to attend a friend’s event rather than going to worship God,
people agreed with things that friend said or done which were actually hated by
God and people are tolerable with small sins such as signing attendance for
friend after being asked to.
One thing I need to explain
here. If you love your friend more than God, chances are this love is going to
fade anytime. This is because this love might have been based on something,
like values. So if this friend can’t maintain the standard of the values you
had for him/her, this love is going to end anytime soon. Why, because you can’t
love if you didn’t love God. We love because God first loves us and God is
love. So if we are far away from God(Love), how can we possibly be able to
love? Sounds logic to me.
Christians are not anti-social freaks. Jesus had friends
too, in fact He wept the moment His best friend, Lazarus died and He had dinner
with Matthew who is a tax collector where no one wants to make friend with. And
His love for all these friends including you and me is genuine that this verse
had been proven by His sacrifice on cross for our sins: “Greater love has
no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends”.
But do we treat our friends in such a
way that we had become the salt and the light to them? Or do our actions
pointed people to a darker way, to a journey where God is better off, where God
is not important in our lives so do in theirs?
Let us ponder over this
tonight to see if any words we had spoken or actions we had taken that actually
representing Jesus Christ badly, more importantly if these words and actions
had actually broken our Father’s heart. As I was writing this down, I was
reflecting it on myself too.
Ask this question again, do we
love our friends? If it is so, what can be more important than introducing Jesus
Christ to them? (I know it needs time)
Ask this rather more important
question again, do we love God? If it is so, what can be more important than
bringing yourself to Him first before you try to bring anyone else to Him?
If you do not think of God as
love, ask again, what brings you to church in the first place? Is it a Sunday’s
routine? Is it because you are born in a Christian’s family? Is it because it
seems to be cheerful and merry to sing songs in church? Anyway, I was simply
guessing.
But I do hope we all know the
reason why we came. It is the most exciting moment ever when it comes to
worship God and it would be absurd if any of us chooses other things over this.
So do invite, invite them in a
way that they come because they see Jesus Christ in you, not that it’s just another
way to please a friend.
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