Subscription Lists
Surrendered to Love
by Jeannie Pallett
Are the relationships you have a reflection of the relationship you have with the Father? Do you ever stop and wonder if the topics chosen to speak about and the way you speak reflect the love of the Father? Do you often take the time to smile at a stranger and then watch their face light up with pleasure? A smile takes no time at all but it sure can lift the spirit of another. A smile makes us feel better too!
It seems so easy to recognize a kindred spirit in another and it is not difficult to plumb the depths in our hearts, to explore our interests and to share what matters to us the most. Those friendships are incredibly special and I have found that even on-line, connections of the heart take place and God knits us together for a time and season.
Just as we need to make a point of spending time with our Lord to grow in that close and intimate with Him, so He expects us to be willing to develop an intimate relationship with those special people He brings into our lives. When we love, we need no barriers, no protective walls, just an understanding of our healthy boundaries.
We are partakers in the Body of Christ and we ought to be active in blessing and encouraging our friends and being able to receive the same. As brothers and sisters who are one in Christ, we acknowledge the correctness in sharing our hearts, our willingness to spend time with one another. There is such incredible joy that comes with the sharing, such freedom to laugh and enjoy times of frivolity. God is a happy God and He wants His joy to be full in us, He expects us to be happy and oh, how it pleases His heart when His children laugh and share good times of fellowship.
Laughter is part of the mixture in the building of relationships. We laugh aloud, live aloud and we love aloud, reflecting Him in the quality of our friendships. We reflect the love of God to one another, and one way God expresses His love for us is through the relationships His children have with one another.
He builds us up through the various gifts He has distributed amongst His children and He has such abundance for us. We need to learn and practise how to be channels of His blessing - some of us even need to learn how to receive those blessings as well.
The desire of God's heart is that we are strengthened and built up in Him, becoming skilled by reason of use in the gifts He has deposited within us. He has distributed gifts to each of us, sometimes it just takes a little soul searching to know the gifts He has given us, once we understand what those gifts are, He does expect us to begin to use them for the building up of other believers.
Having a friend and being a friend is what knits us together and brings vitality to the Body of Christ as we learn to lovingly express truth in the way we speak, act and live. Enfolded in love, we will grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head.
Friendships based on the love of the Father brought about by the Father, bring life to us. Fullness in life brings joy and joy brings laughter. God loves and God loves to laugh and have His joy expressed and lived out in the lives of His beloved.
Whose friendship are you cultivating today? Are you someone people would like to have for a friend?
Rate it:
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Surrendered to Love" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.