"Friendly"

"A man that hath friends must show himself friendly" (Proverbs 18:24).

There is a necessary reciprocity in all good and genuine relationship. To paraphrase Solomon's wisdom in the verse above, we must be a friend in order to have a friend.

This includes every relationship in the born again believer's life. "How can I glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and how can I be a blessing of His grace and truth to _____ ?" This must be our primary sensibility concerning family relationships, friendships, fellowship with other believers, work associations, involvement with neighbors, and even with those casual contacts we see in everyday life that are actually not casual at all. They are rather consequential because our Heavenly Father ordains the relationships of committed believers for the purpose of revealing the person and work of the Lord Jesus in us and by us. We show not only ourselves friendly by this understanding and devotion to the glory of God, but far more importantly, we show Him friendly to our world. That is, we show His desire for living and involved relationship with all as we acknowledge and submit ourselves to the primary purpose of our connections.

The expression of our devotion to being a friend is our Lord's prerogative. We submit ourselves to Him in the confidence He will lead us in His wisdom, and in the power of Christ to be what people in our sphere of influence need us to be. "I am yours, Lord, for ______." We do well to consciously and decisively affirm this truth regarding every person in our lives. From this basis, we expect our Heavenly Father to illuminate a path of communication, self sacrifice, fellowship, and witness of the fact that our relationships are not merely human in their origin and significance. Every bond in our life is actually a trinity in small wherein God, ourselves, and the other party are meant to walk together for the purpose of revealing the glory of Christ in countless ways, means and expressions.

Of course, we cannot control the other person's response to this truth. They may or may not join us in our devotion, and some may not even be believers. However, we can be sure that we ourselves are seeing our relationships for what they actually are. Thereby our Lord will be honored, and the people of our lives will be blessed by a friendship that expresses itself through us, but begins and is empowered by God Himself.

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together."

(Psalm 34:3)