As I sit today preparing for Sunday's message, I'm drawn to Mark 1:14-20 and 2:13-14. I think it's cool that Jesus called a bunch of guys from various backgrounds and He did it pretty much at the very beginning of His public life. To me, this shows the importance of life's road not being a solitary one. Jesus would have been just as effective without these guys close to Him, but He wanted them by His side. Community and friendship were important to Jesus.
This all reminds me that friendship and community, like much of what we experience as anglers on the water and in places like GLB, is important. I've learned that the "old me" who really didn't give a crap what others thought of me was a lot less happy than the me of today that does care about having friends and people in my life that care about me and accept me for who I am. It makes me treat people better I think. At least I hope it does.
I hope it encourages someone to read that friends were important to Jesus and that friends can come from the most unlikely of places. For Jesus, it was simple fisherman, tax collectors, doctors, and even a political zealot. The moral? Everyone matters. You matter...a lot. And so do the most unlikely people you know.
It is easy to underestimate the importance of community...My family and I would have been lost without the support of our church and community during my deployment 2 years ago..They pretty much took care of everything while I was gone, from mowing the lawn to praying for the safety of myself and my unit...I slept alot better at night and was able to keep my head in the "game" more knowing that the needs of my family were being taken care of at home...
I so agree. During the toughest time of my life, I was alone and isolated. I nearly self-destructed. But knowing that you are not alone in life changes everything. As I was contemplating all this, I was just drawn to this passage where Jesus refers to US as His friends. Pretty cool. We are friends of God, not just mindless, blind followers. I get so sad when I meet people who view God as an impossible to please, quick to condemn, harsh, taskmaster... instead of the loving, accepting friend to sinners that He is.
John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Quoted from the ESV.
thank you Tom, good point about not being alone..karol