I Have a Friend



Photo by Bas Masseus from Pexels


I have a friend. He is a friend who to others might seem as an odd friend for me. This friend is a straight, evangelical, well-known in famous evangelical circles man who does one thing when he interacts with me. He doesn't tell me that I'm living a life of sin as a lesbian woman, nor does he pray for my deliverance in my face. He doesn't shun me in his presence, refuse to make eye contact, frown at me, shout at me, or quote Scripture about the sin of homosexuality. 

No, this man is my friend. To be honest, I really have no idea how he feels about me being a lesbian or about the LGBTQA+ community. But I do know this. I know he loves me, and the reason I know this is because of the text messages he sends to me. His most recent text ended with these words: "Keep serving the Lord." And then it hit me! My friend is like the Apostle Paul, the author of a great many New Testament books. He is an encourager, writing short notes to spur me on to serve the Lord and to not get weary in so doing. 

We all need a friend like mine. Someone to give us a shot of encouragement, to call us further, to activate our faith and excitement for service to the King. Do you have that person in your life? I'm gonna say that you need that person, we all do...a cheerleader, a mentor, pastor, motivational coach, tutor, father or mother figure. Someone that can see our gifts, see how we serve, and give us a shot in the arm from time to time. 

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9)

If you don't have a "Paul" in your life, look for one. Find a person on your team who loves you and can be your motivator in life. And if we know each other, I'm offering to be that person for you.




Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 19, 2020 at 2:32 PM

    And we can be a friend like yours-be the encourager to someone

    ReplyDelete

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