Part II - Reading Chapter Five and the Gospel of John
As I was reading chapter five tonight, I remembered that this was a chapter I got a lot out of and really enjoyed the first time. The chapter is entitled "Coming Together" and focuses on why we pray. Yancey begins with why Jesus prayed. He writes about Jesus being fully at ease with the Father and at unease with the world. "...praying at supper the night of his arrest he recalled 'the glory I had with you before the world began.'" I had just listened to this earlier today in the Gospel of John (on CD in my car). Both times, my mind wondered: What must it have been like to be on earth and remember the glory of heaven and an eternal relationship with the Father? And, as Yancey points out, it is prayer that sustained Jesus spiritually during his time on earth. If that was true for Jesus, it is certainly true for us.
I loved the section on friendship. Yancey described the different things he looks for in a friend. And the statement I most identified with was, "I look for someone who will reward my honesty and not punish it..." and "With true friends, I feel safe." There are different levels of safety in friendship. As I was reading this, I thought about one friend in particular. Janette. She and I have a level of honesty that far exceeds many relationships. We have been mad at each other. We have let each other have it. We have hurt each other. We have failed each other. We have repented to each other. We have listened to each other. We have poured our hearts out to each other. We have forgiven each other. We have learned from each other. We have been friends through hard times and we have celebrated good times. We have had fun together. We have had deep, soul to soul conversations when we are both intently hearing each other. And we have conversations where all we do is talk over each other (loudly). But through all of this, we have always stayed friends and we have always valued each other's friendship. There have been a few times I think we have both even wanted to strangle each other. But I can honestly say, I could never replace Janette's friendship. I know she is someone who will always be there for me, no matter what comes. And we can be brutally honest with each other without the fear of losing the friendship. There are friends I love just as much, but my honesty is not appreciated and has even destroyed the relationship.
Yancey describes similar aspects of our relationship with God and how we are completely known to God. We each have relationships where parts of us are known. But only God completely knows and understands us. The closest thing I've experienced to that on earth is with my husband, John. We've been together for only four years and it amazes me how well he knows me. I'll start to go into a long explanation of myself (as I am prone to do) and he'll say, "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I know your heart." He has said this on different occasions and it always means the world to me. Not only is this a tremendous gift to me as a wife, but it's a spiritual gift.
I guess my point in sharing those thoughts here is the illustration of how we can be representations of God's love in each other's lives. Although we fall so short in loving or knowing as He loves and knows each of us, we can demonstrate those qualities more than we realize in our earthly relationships. In so doing, we point each other continually to God. No matter how loved or how known we are in our human relationships, our relationship with God far exceeds any we will know here on earth. Because no human being will ever love or understand us to the degree that God does. But we can give each other the gift of a glimpse into that kind of love and friendship. And we can also point unbelievers to God through the love and commitment that is evident in our marriages and in our friendships.
I seem to have gotten away from the topic of prayer. But these are the thoughts this chapter inspired in me. I thought about the ways God has taught me about His love and understanding through relationships. I don't vent to God the way I would to John or Janette. But I should. He is the ultimate friend.
I loved the section on friendship. Yancey described the different things he looks for in a friend. And the statement I most identified with was, "I look for someone who will reward my honesty and not punish it..." and "With true friends, I feel safe." There are different levels of safety in friendship. As I was reading this, I thought about one friend in particular. Janette. She and I have a level of honesty that far exceeds many relationships. We have been mad at each other. We have let each other have it. We have hurt each other. We have failed each other. We have repented to each other. We have listened to each other. We have poured our hearts out to each other. We have forgiven each other. We have learned from each other. We have been friends through hard times and we have celebrated good times. We have had fun together. We have had deep, soul to soul conversations when we are both intently hearing each other. And we have conversations where all we do is talk over each other (loudly). But through all of this, we have always stayed friends and we have always valued each other's friendship. There have been a few times I think we have both even wanted to strangle each other. But I can honestly say, I could never replace Janette's friendship. I know she is someone who will always be there for me, no matter what comes. And we can be brutally honest with each other without the fear of losing the friendship. There are friends I love just as much, but my honesty is not appreciated and has even destroyed the relationship.
Yancey describes similar aspects of our relationship with God and how we are completely known to God. We each have relationships where parts of us are known. But only God completely knows and understands us. The closest thing I've experienced to that on earth is with my husband, John. We've been together for only four years and it amazes me how well he knows me. I'll start to go into a long explanation of myself (as I am prone to do) and he'll say, "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I know your heart." He has said this on different occasions and it always means the world to me. Not only is this a tremendous gift to me as a wife, but it's a spiritual gift.
I guess my point in sharing those thoughts here is the illustration of how we can be representations of God's love in each other's lives. Although we fall so short in loving or knowing as He loves and knows each of us, we can demonstrate those qualities more than we realize in our earthly relationships. In so doing, we point each other continually to God. No matter how loved or how known we are in our human relationships, our relationship with God far exceeds any we will know here on earth. Because no human being will ever love or understand us to the degree that God does. But we can give each other the gift of a glimpse into that kind of love and friendship. And we can also point unbelievers to God through the love and commitment that is evident in our marriages and in our friendships.
I seem to have gotten away from the topic of prayer. But these are the thoughts this chapter inspired in me. I thought about the ways God has taught me about His love and understanding through relationships. I don't vent to God the way I would to John or Janette. But I should. He is the ultimate friend.
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