My first thought when I read this was the old saying which came to mind:
Love friends; Use things.
As you well know, so it is no surprise when I say this, we tend to “Love things; Use people.” Why were these my first thoughts? Because of what Tripp writes in the first paragraph: “Our relationships don’t belong to us. They belong to God for his use for his purpose. We cannot allow ourselves to have an owner’s view of our relationships, as if they exist for the sole purpose of our happiness.”
Many of us have what we call friendships but they are, in reality, a means to end for us. We have this friend because of what I can get out of it. Sadly, in the Greek language view of “love” that is one of them. It is called philos, a conditional type of “love” defined by the Greeks as different from real love, but misinterpreted by us as being love. So I think the very first thing we must do is make sure we have the right view toward others.
Okay…so much for the Greek lesson. 🙂 Now for further comment on what Tripp has written. The passage in Col.3:12-14 speaks of our need, our identity, and our calling. The one which spoke the most to me was the statement he made in identity:
The best word for that identity is ambassador. Every believer is called to be an ambassador of the Savior King…the only thing an ambassador does is represent the king who sent him. This means that Jesus makes his invisible presence visible through his people, who represent him in one another’s lives.
All I can say to that is “Father, I am your representative. Help me to do that well. Help me to represent you as kind and gracious, loving and truthful, patient and compassionate. Help me to find my identity not in my preaching, my teaching, my job, my family, my achievements, or anything else. Help me to find it in you.”
This is one huge area that I think makes zero sense to anyone who is not a Christ follower…”common sense” says friendships need to be reciprocal”…but it seems that God’s kingdom and family is ruled by something other than “common sense”, thankfully! The problem is it also goes against my natural “bend” of human nature! And I “fall flat” over and over again, even though my prayer is that in my daily interactions I would be a kingdom rep vs out to “fulfill my needs through people”! Had to think that “this is an area where it is impossible to change without some powerful grace and mercy” – and wow do I need that! Cause it won’t happen by sheer will power!
You’re absolutely right Crystal. This won’t change without some divine grace and mercy. Human effort, at best, will eventually fail.
I love the concept of being God’s ambassador, Bill. This certainly gives us a wake up call as to how we are interacting with others in the world. May we all submit to God’s will for us in how we love others.
Blessings!
it does or should wake us up and give some seriousness to our calling.