Friends of Jesus, friends of one another
John 15: 12 - 17
Love one another the way I loved you. Put your life on the line for your friends. I'm no longer calling you servants...No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father. (The Message)
Yesterday, a group of five of us started on a journey together in what is called a 'spiritual direction group'. This group was brought together by the Lord as each person expressed to me separately over the past month or so their desire for spiritual companionship in a group setting. There are existing friendships within the group, but each person is new to at least two others in the group. What we are all hoping for is the deeper bond that we share as 'friends of Jesus'. That makes us 'friends of one another' in a deep and true sense even though we may not socialize in the usual way outside of group time.
In a book on discipleship (Jesus Christ Disciplemaker), Bill Hull explains with clarity the experience of bonding described above. He says that Jesus is indeed our spiritual bonding force. He goes on to say that "our vertical relationship with God shapes our horizontal relationship with those around us". Indeed, "our intimate fellowship with Christ prepares us for meaningful fellowship with Christians". In our spiritual direction group, there are few external similarities. Our life circumstances and experiences are indeed all very different. Our ministry callings are different. We represent 3 different churches. The bonding comes from our shared desire 'for a deeper relationship with God' and a 'willingness to be intentional about our spiritual journey'. Anything other than this will put the group on shaky ground, because we will be dependent on others or on some superficial similarity for our spiritual vitality.
Perhaps we ought to remember this whenever we form different types of fellowship groups in our churches. I have been through many different types of groups at various times in my journey. And I am grateful for the different persons as we walked together. But I have occasionally had to leave groups where the focus shifted from Jesus to perhaps church issues, to financial management, to children's needs. These issues are an important part of our lives. We are enfleshed, not only spirit beings. But issues should not become the centerpiece of discussion, at the expense of time taken to read the Word, to listen to God together and help one another discern God's wisdom and guidance in each of these areas. Even those groups that have outward similarities, like mothers' groups, senior citizens groups, young adult groups and so on, should not depend only on their common factors to bond them together. Unless each person in a group is desirous of walking with Jesus in growing friendship, he or she will not be able to provide true Christian fellowship and encouragement for others.
Jesus has modeled for us intimate spiritual communion with his Father. He calls us friends who are privileged to be let in on what he has learned from the Father. When we become friends of Jesus, we are ready to be friends who love one another.
2 comments:
Blessings on your spiritual direction group. Will be praying for you all.
Thank you very much Alex! Yes, we do need to remember that the Spirit is the true 'director' and to practice 'listening' for the Spirit in each others' lives.
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