I believe in friends ...
I believe in God, the Father Almighty … and in Jesus Christ, His only Son ... the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church etc. etc. I’ve said it many times and what a noble statement of faith.
There’s only one thing, however: I wouldn’t mind just adding as an appendage at the end (or maybe it fits in alongside ‘communion of saints’): ‘I believe in friends.’ What I mean is, yes, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all most essential, vital parts of my life - and so also are my friends. If God has rescued me BIG TIME in a redemptive sense and in a million practical ways, my friends have also rescued me again and again from all the things that tangle me up and send me off course. There are times when I have just placed myself in their hands and trusted them to the uttermost with the most painful parts of my life. The strange thing, though, is that in the middle of all this is – God. I come away and my spirit is refreshed and renewed and lightness enters my soul once more. I feel full of fresh energy to serve Him, I who was so full of weariness. God Himself has nurtured, rescued me – through my friends.
I believe in friends. There’s nothing on earth like them. Give me a million pounds and that would be nothing compared to having a group of true friends.
Those who lack friends are, I believe, living in poverty, poverty of soul, of spirit.
That brings me on to this: enjoying friends must lead onto seeking to be a friend. To be a friend, a true friend, is a high calling indeed. O to be a good friend - as others have been good friends to me.
O I do, I do, I do: I believe in friends.
Luke 5: 1-11
Can you imagine the scene? A tired Peter, first weary from a fruitless haul and now exhausted by a massive haul of fish, throws himself down at Jesus’ feet saying: “Choose someone else better than me – go, leave me!” and Jesus’ heartening words: “Don’t be discouraged or afraid; I’m bringing radical redirection to your life: you will be fishing for disciples." (My paraphrase).
I reckon, in that moment, for Peter, Jesus ceased to be an exceptional rabbi; He became the one who demanded nothing less than everything and life would never be the same. What Peter perhaps did not realise was that his sense of unworthiness was the very thing that qualified him for the task He felt so unfit to do.
This was one of Peter’s conversions - I reckon those who, like Peter, choose to continue to follow Jesus have many such 'conversions' when we make an inward realignment, a choice that alters the course on which we are set, plunging us into a deeper surrender to God’s will.
Peter, Peter, two steps forward, one step back. We see that pattern in your life but I guess we’re all a little like that. But even two steps forward, one step back is progress – and look where it got you in the end!
As long as these ‘conversions’ continue to take place, I’m happy.
Now, the church I belong to is a second generation church; 'chapter two' of the story, we call it. Perhaps you get the picture, the fire has died down a bit - we all acknowledge that.
I've noticed the tendency is to panic a little to preserve; there's an inclination to a knee-jerk reaction to create rules to safeguard what we have; I can understand this but believe it's not the best way to stoke the fire.
I think we need pace setters, front-runners in the race, people we can follow. Yes, we know who they are. Steven, the first martyr, was one in the early church; he wasn't an apostle but he was a pace-setter. People like that around convict us of our selfishness, show us we've slowed down and hopefully make us want to run faster too. After all, the writer of Hebrews didn't say walk the race, jog along as best you can; he wrote, 'run the race'(Hebrews 12:1).
“Hey, hey I can't keep up;” “I feel, well, just a little threatened by this one’s zeal.” This is no time for feelings of inferiority but rejoicing in another's strength; followers become leaders. One of the marks of Christ-likeness is the joy in seeing others do better than ourselves: John the Baptist was a true hero when he said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30 NKJ).
Isaiah, prophesying Messiah’ s golden age said: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb ... and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6 NKJ). These pace-setters need not be recognised leaders; they’ve just got to be lovers – of God, of His people, of every sort of person.
Young generation lead us on; we’ll try not to mind being followers; we just want to get there together!
