“…but I have called you friends,…”

John 15:15

When you walk with God, you have the ultimate companion.  You have someone who is always there when you need them.  Someone you always are able to depend on. Someone you know is your friend independent of the situation.

When you follow Christ though, you quickly come to realize that you are not the most popular person in the world.  You are not a rock star, or basketball superstar, or a famous Hollywood movie star.  You are unique.  And your uniqueness turns many people away from you because you are not acceptable to world standards.  Yes, the righteous will find you uncomfortable to walk with.  The rich will find you a stumbling block.  The powerful will find you threatening the status quo.  The experts will question your credentials.  The elders will find you rebellious.  The sinner will accept you as one of them until they realize your abhorrence to sin.  The naive will consider you their messiah until they find that you preach acceptance of personal responsibility for your actions.  The minority will push their agendas on you until they realize you have no distinction between races, sexes, or political affiliations.  The right wing will consider you a liberal while the left wing insists you’re a conservative.  Your pastor thinks you are uncommitted.  Your family says you’re a little strange.  Your neighbors love you but can’t seem to accept you as you are.  Your coworkers respect you but wonder when you are going to become normal.  Your children honor you and accept your eccentricities as part of the aging process.  And you wonder how come your companions are few?

Jesus selected twelve disciples that where the closest to him.  Of the twelve, three where the most intimate with him, Peter, John and James.  Jesus didn’t have a physical wife or children of His own.  His companions consisted of those who walked with Him on Kingdom’s mission.  He ministered to them while they ministered to Him.  His companions came to Him by His Dad to start the work that He was prophesied to complete.  Not everyone was excited about the Kingdom of God.  Only those people whose passion towards the Kingdom came alive did Jesus bring close to His bosom. and one of them was going to betray Him.  Many of them didn’t even capture the real vision of the Kingdom during His ministry.  Yet Jesus chose them, ministered to them, taught them, loved them, played with them, and worked with them, giving them the best years of His life including the ultimate, life itself.

The best companion we all have is Jesus and the friends He brings to us while sharing the gospel of the Kingdom.  Our companions are few, but true.

OUR PRAYER

Oh Loving Dad, thank you for bringing Jesus into our life!  He was God from the beginning of time.  He emptied himself to become a human person, and humbly died on the cross.  Yet today, you raised Him up and glorified Him.  You made Him King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of Saviors, and Friend of Friends.

Jesus, you are our King, Lord, Savior, and Friend.  Thank you for loving us from the beginning of time and revealing to us your love now when we most need it.  Help us to learn from you.  Help us to live with you.  Help us to love you.

Live in us as the Father lived in you while you walked this planet.  Let your love abound in us.  Let your peace surround us.  Let your majesty precede us.

Thank you for hearing and interceding in our prayers.  Thank you for all your help.  Thank you for always being with us as a true friend.  Help us be a friend for others as you are for us.  Thank you, Jesus.

There are those in our youth who may express disappointment to have no other choice but the long and narrow roads of life. Generally, youth wants the four lane freeways of life to allow more room to maneuver and arrive at their destination quicker. Though as youth matures, that concept seems to change.  Today, maturity would rather have the narrow road, the road less traveled. The single lane country roads are more fun than the modern, multi fast lane expressways of metropolitan areas. As we age, speed isn’t as important as timeliness.  We rather drive and enjoy the view of the countryside rather than the cement of buildings and streets. The roads may not have the best directional signs, but the experience is much greater and positive.

Our modern freeways are a wonder of travel. You can travel anywhere in the country without a map by simply following the road signs. We know people who once traveled driving through the night from Detroit, Michigan to Madison, Wisconsin without opening a map. They simply headed west and followed the major signs. But try that through the country roads and they would probably still be driving (this is written prior to GPS). You would literally have to stop and ask for directions every few miles to confirm that you where moving in the proper direction. The speed limits would also make a thirteen-hour drive into a thirteen day drive. But the experience, the people, the sites, the flavor of the countryside, the feel of small town America, the beauty of the rural areas would make it all worthwhile. Again, in our youth when time was of the essence, the freeways of life were probably our first choice.

Today, as we mature with time as our companion, the narrow country roads of life are our buddies.  To paraphrase Jesus, narrow is the door that leads to life and wide is the way to destruction. If the majority of people feel something is acceptable, we then immediately feel that it is so. Likewise, if only a few agree, then it must be wrong. How often have we fell into that way of thinking? If fact, the reverse can also be true. Just because the majority agree doesn’t make it right or wrong. The number of people in agreement doesn’t weight the scale. The scale is weight by God’s Word as best as we understand it.

One of the hardest concepts of living that took awhile to sink in was this simple truth: that the majority could be wrong. We are not saying that they are always wrong, but if probability is our god, and depending on the situation, it could easily lean in that favor. It doesn’t matter if we are talking politics, parenting, or religion. The majority isn’t always right. You have to search for the facts and discover the truth (small t). If God allows, He may even reveal the real Truth (large T) to you. To take the narrow road is against human nature. We feel more comfortable taking the wide road. It looks safer. It looks more exciting. It feels right. It allows us more room to maneuver and make choices. It’s the road well traveled. How can anyone go wrong? But the narrow road looks so lonely. It forces you to focus and concentrate. It feels cramped. What can you possibly discover traveling down such a spooky route?

One person once stated that perception is everything and truth (small t) is what you perceive it to be. You create your own reality. If you perceive the narrow path or the wide road as the best route for you to take, your perception is the truth. However, being a disciple of His, we also try to balance our perception of truth (small t) with the larger Truth (large T). Whenever we are in doubt, we lean towards faith in Him and Truth as He has revealed to us.  Part of that process has been learning over time the joy and rewards of traveling down the narrow roads of life. We still have the hurts, marks, and pain from traveling down the wide freeways of life as our reminder that narrow roads are better for His disciple.  If anyone hasn’t tried them yet, we will gladly share our experiences. And if our experience isn’t enough, we can locate many others who would likewise agree. All of them are our brothers and sisters in Christ. For a Christ-follower journeys the narrow road less traveled.

OUR PRAYER

Awesome Dad, thank you for revealing your plan of salvation to us. Thank you for giving us your Word to read, to understand, and to come to know you through. Thank you for sharing with us your creation. Thank you for revealing the joys and beauty of walking with you. Thank you for being there when we need you. Thank you for sharing the journey  with us. Thank you, Jesus.