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“I no longer call you servants, because a servant doesn’t know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known.” John 15:15 (NIV)

This scripture humbles me. It speaks of a new relationship between Jesus and His followers, of which I am one.

In Earthly Lives

In our earthly lives we are people with relationships. We may have siblings. We might have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Sometimes people living in certain areas develop special camaraderie among neighbors.

In Our Faith

In our Christian faith, each of us develops a bond with the LORD. When we ask Jesus into our hearts, we start a very special friendship with Him. As we learn more about Him our regard grows stronger. In our Christian faith communities, we have special regard with our fellow worshippers.

In the world, we have friendships that are actually very close. I have a few friends who I can talk to about very personal feelings and issues that concern me.

In Marriage

For those of us who are married, we either married our best friends or have grown to become best friends with our husbands or wives.

One of our close friends and her husband were married for 65 years before he passed away. They took care of each other when either of them was ill. They both are in heaven now. My husband and I miss them.

In the Marketplace

When I go to the pharmacy, I try to inquire about this one young woman’s family. I was aware that her mother had Cancer. Her mother finally passed away. During that time I always tried to show my concern for her.

The woman at our insurance agent’s office helped our son think through some issues he might face in his new home in another state where he initially did not know anyone. He had to use that feature of his coverage one time since he has been there. The next time I saw her, I made a point to thank her for her guidance.

When we go to the grocery, I prefer going through one particular check-out because the gentleman remembers I need help getting my groceries into our car. He always asks if my husband is waiting at the front of the store. If I am not sure, he steps away from his cash register and looks for me.

Our friendship with God should be very special. We should, at least daily, spend time with Him, praying and reading His Word. He desires this kind of relationship with us. He loves us that much.

There is another grocery store in our area. It is bigger and has more product selection; it has a whole section of health foods. The clerks, like the store I usually patronize, will help me find what I need.

Strained, Estranged Relationships

Certain relationships can be categorized as strained. We have people in our lives who cause us situations that we have to build ‘boundaries’ in our speaking with them. We can’t say anything to them about certain topics in our lives because we know that they will have their own opinions to tell us about how things should be. Or they make light of something that is said to them by comparing it to their circumstance.

Some relationships become so difficult thy have to end. This is not a conclusion that is easily reached. We have to give these circumstances over to the LORD and let Him guide us through these decisions. We choose not to talk about what happened because our talk can cause concern and sadness but we have to remember to honor the other parties by not talking in derogatory ways about them.

A Thought

As I typed this God reminded me of Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, 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 these things.”

My thought I have of this verse is if we put it into practice, we would have better relationships with those who are around us and, possibly, not have those estranged relationships in our personal lives. It should become our goal to represent Christ in all our relationships.

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Inspired