In
Ephesians 2:1-6, Paul describes how each of us has our own zombie phase before
we are changed by our own light, God. The darkness of the world overtakes us,
and our lungs are polluted with unbelief. Our actions are filled with
disobedience. The motto of this world is “It’s all about me.” This is the truth
of our existence outside of God. Have you been there? I certainly have. It
wasn’t so long ago that I filled my mind with pride and spoke deceit and
destruction. It wasn’t so long ago that I did what I wanted, whenever I wanted
and with whomever I wanted. It was all about me. When the world revolves around
one person, the world does not include God. He is the only light that can fill
up our darkness.
Throughout
the Twilight series, Bella describes
Jake as her personal sun and light. He seems so bright to her because Bella has
experienced such dark places. He rescues her and protects her over and over
again. He embodies pure teenage boy with a big dose of supernatural strength. I
can already hear the Team Jacob fans cheering for him! Like Bella’s
relationship with Edward, Jacob’s relationship with Bella is unbalanced. Bella
continually uses Jake for her own comfort without really considering his needs.
A good, healthy friendship is hard to find these days. Real friendship takes a great deal of time and
hard work. In a busy world, we struggle to build real relationships with other
people. When we sacrifice our friendships for other things or people, we lose
the opportunity to encourage and build up one another. And the truth is that we
need good friends.
Pastor James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel is one of my favorite
podcasters. In a lesson about friendship, MacDonald uses the friendship between
Jonathan and David in the Bible as a good, healthy example.7 Jonathan
was the son of the king and supposed heir to the throne. David was the musician
for the king and anointed by God to be king. They should have been against one
another, but they were completely devoted to each other in friendship. It was
the first "bro-mance" in the Bible. The friendship of Jonathan and
David even went beyond the grave. After the tragic death of Jonathan, David
continued to honor his friend by taking care of his son, Mephibosheth. With I
Samuel 23:16-18 as the backdrop, MacDonald draws out these five phrases of real
friendship. Reflect on your
own friendships and evaluate which of these phrases deserve recommitment in
your life.
- I will be there for you in times
of hardship.
- I will help you depend on God and
not me.
- I will seek to be a source of
emotional stability for you.
- I will be self-effacing and
unashamed in my loyalty to you.
- I will verbalize my commitment to
you.
Real
friends direct us toward a higher source of power – God. We cannot fully
recover from the heartaches in life without good friends and a good God. In
Ephesians 2:7-10, we learn that God saves us from our sins, but He also saves
us by working in our everyday lives to turn the difficult into the divine. The
truth in this passage is that only God can save us. God is our personal sun,
not Jacob Black or any other person. He saves us and gives us a place to belong
and create in the community of Christ.