friendships

So, my heart has really been reevaluating my "friendships" lately. I mean, there are just some things that people post on Facebook, specifically, that I don't want to see. I changed my Twitter and deleted some people from Facebook already, but I don't know if this is silly or not. There are some people I keep on my Facebook friends (or kept) because I felt that maybe I was the only "light" they have. I fall short a lot (see the last two blogs for starters) so I don't know that they see it. And, I think in some cases, they post things I don't want to condone or have any part of - including seeing pictures of it. Thus lies the issue. To keep or not to keep? It's been on my heart, but am I being a prude or do we just not have anything in common? Would I talk to them if I saw them in a supermarket? "What would Jesus do?"

Paul drew a distinct line, and told us not to be apart of the world. Don't dabble in it, don't mess with it. It's a line we blur a lot as Americans (or maybe humans), and I admit I am guilty of that one. What does it mean in this instance?

For starters, the Gospel is a game-changer. It makes people mad, it makes people uncomfortable, and it makes people want to push back against it. Why? Because the heart of the Gospel surrounds the realness of Jesus Christ, and a lot of people - especially in Paul's day - didn't like that. To have Jesus proclaimed as their Messiah but not come wielding a sword to save them from the Romans and create a dominant Jewish nation was nothing short of disappointing to the Jews, so many didn't believe. Put into the perspective of all of creation, however, and it makes total sense. God sent His Son to reconcile a broken humanity to Himself, because nothing else could make the atonement for the real heartbreaking, heavy reality of our sin. And He acted as a servant - as a role model for Christians (ouch!) and He gave his life for both His glory and to reconcile His children to Himself.

He then conquered death! What caused death in the garden? Sin! So sin is conquered through the resurrection of Christ (why we celebrate Easter- NOT a bunny that drops eggs of candy). The battle is won for those who believe. And reading some of this, some people don't want to commit fully to this Gospel. Why? Because it means we can't dabble in this world. It means there's something greater than partying it up and "living the life," and other things that separate us from God's love. The reality is that we were created in the image of God, meant to worship Him alone, and that all other things we worship (or try to) will not satisfy us. Yeah, we were created for the purpose of worshiping, so in every moment of our lives, we are worshiping something!

That's just the start. I could keep going. My question, after all these things, is whether God would have me to continue to be friends with some people I met a long time ago that aren't good influences, even virtually. Am I flirting with the world by maintaining these friendships?

That's what's on my heart, and that's what I'm hoping God and I will be figuring out this week. Feel free to pray with me!

Striving to surrender each and every day,

Elizabeth Marie