Facebook says that I have 434 friends. On my birthday every year, I am inundated with well-wishers. I hang out regularly with new anchors and TV actors. Of course, I don't ACTUALLY hang out with them, any more than I actually have over 400 friends. They are "flat-screen friendships" - a poor substitute, indeed, for the real thing. Writing "happy birthday" on a friend's facebook wall is not nearly as meaningful as taking that friend out to dinner for their birthday. "Lol" cannot compare to a deep, hearty laugh over a pithy joke or well-timed comment. "Praying for you" typed at the end of an email is nowhere near the same thing as bowing your heads and speaking to the Lord together.
It's easier, of course. It takes no work at all to have a flat-screen relationship. If someone upsets you, you can simply defriend them or stop following their tweets. If you don't want to talk to someone, you can just ignore their phone call. Unpleasant emails can simply not be responded to. Living in the modern age has made communication - or the lack thereof - nearly effortless.
But Jesus has called us to love each other. That is, in fact, a result of a spirit-filled person - they show love for the people in their lives, and a willingness to invest in them. One of the main purposes of the Church, in fact, is to create a sense of community. Not a community that simply has potlucks and ice cream socials on the weekends after church, and then leaves everyone to fend for themselves during the week; but rather, a community that knows it members intimately - all of their quirks, flaws, and idiosyncrasies - and is willing to love them anyway.
Unfortunately, this type of community is far too rare. So few of us are willing to stick with it and keep loving, even when things get sticky, messy, and difficult. But it is so worth it. True relationships are gritty and hard work - and completely worth it. True relationships make us grow in ways that we could never do on our own, in our little 2-dimensional world. Don't settle for a life filled with flat-screened friendships.
It's easier, of course. It takes no work at all to have a flat-screen relationship. If someone upsets you, you can simply defriend them or stop following their tweets. If you don't want to talk to someone, you can just ignore their phone call. Unpleasant emails can simply not be responded to. Living in the modern age has made communication - or the lack thereof - nearly effortless.
But Jesus has called us to love each other. That is, in fact, a result of a spirit-filled person - they show love for the people in their lives, and a willingness to invest in them. One of the main purposes of the Church, in fact, is to create a sense of community. Not a community that simply has potlucks and ice cream socials on the weekends after church, and then leaves everyone to fend for themselves during the week; but rather, a community that knows it members intimately - all of their quirks, flaws, and idiosyncrasies - and is willing to love them anyway.
Unfortunately, this type of community is far too rare. So few of us are willing to stick with it and keep loving, even when things get sticky, messy, and difficult. But it is so worth it. True relationships are gritty and hard work - and completely worth it. True relationships make us grow in ways that we could never do on our own, in our little 2-dimensional world. Don't settle for a life filled with flat-screened friendships.
1 Peter 1:22, 4:8
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so the you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so the you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
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