Giver or Lender?

Last night, I led out in a weekly prayer meeting at my church.  The focus was friendships with friends.  As I compiled my information to share with the group, one profound thought hit me:

Jesus gave.  He did not lend.

There are four levels of friendship:

• Acquaintance
• Casual Friendship
• Close Friendship (aka Fellowship)
• Intimate Friendship

But rather than embrace these relationships, I've organized them by boundary levels.  As a friend becomes dearer to me, they're permitted to come another layer closer to my heart.  Humans have fragile hearts that need protecting and sheltering.  We don't have limitless energies to just parcel ourselves out, even to our friends.  We give, yet hope for a return on that investment.  With all the rants we listen too, the advice we give, the hours spent on our knees in prayer, we cling to the idea that somehow, it would one day be reciprocated.  After a certain time, we're too drained.  Fatigued by the emotional roller coaster of being a friend.  We either need a break, some temporary distance or a final cut off.

That's not how Jesus demonstrated friendship.  He just gave.  He didn't view friendship as a relationship of expectation.  He gave up heaven to come and show us how to live and love each other.  He risked everything to show us that it is possible to make great choices amongst poor options.  Jesus was the ultimate sacrificial lamb.  He gave his best at all levels of friendship.  Even towards His enemies, Jesus did no less than His best.

Along with his life, there are some other priceless gifts included:

Redemption.  Grace.  Mercy.  Forgiveness.  Peace.  Joy.  And so much more.

What kind of friend am I? 

After last night, I'm determined to be a better friend.  To give my best in each level of friendship.  Suddenly, having a small number of friends isn't so shameful after all.  I cannot give my best if I need to reach a large quantity of people in the same way. 

What kind of friend are you?

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 I'm linking up today with Debi.  You're invited to drop in too.