Connecting: It's Good For The Soul

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about humanity and our need to be and feel connected. We develop friendships on many levels from acquaintances to close, intimate friendships and everywhere in between. All of these people are a part of our circle of friendship. It is my desire to live my life in such a way that those people in my circle of influence know that I genuinely care about them. I have been wondering how to do this in a practical way, short of wearing myself thin trying to reach out to everyone I know, and my prayer has been that this quest to show Christ’s love to people around me will not become a burden in my life but a blessing to them and me.

Over the past few days, God has been answering my prayer as I have realized first-hand what a true blessing friendship is to me. Last week, an old friend of mine contacted me to tell me that a mutual friend had asked about me. I sent a thank you message to the other friend and received such a genuine reply that really touched my heart. You see, neither of them were close friends that I had developed an intimate friendship with, but they were simply friends in my circle at one time in my life; and yet, knowing I had weathered some storms in my life and not hearing from me in a while, they cared enough to check in on me. I also received a call from another friend on Sunday. We talked for about twenty or thirty minutes about everything and nothing. This friend wasn’t in a crisis or have an agenda but simply called to share a few moments with me. That phone call spoke love to my soul because even though it was limited in time, it still said, “I am making time for you because I love you!” These are the type of blessings I want to be to everyone in my circle.

As I thought about these experiences, God reminded me that He created man in His image to walk with him in the garden, but even then He still said it was not good for man to be alone so he created woman from man’s rib.

Genesis 2:18-23 (NLT)

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man’.”

Man needed a companion, a friend, someone to share experiences with, to laugh with and cry with. Only when God brought another person to man was he satisfied! We all need other people in our lives to enrich us, to encourage us, to share life with.

I thought about this issue further after my son shared an experience with me when I picked him up from school yesterday. He and his sister mentioned that it had been picture day. They had taken individual spring pictures as well as pictures of their classes. My son informed me that he was the last person to be photographed for the day, and the photographer gave him a compliment. When I inquired he said that the photographer told him he had a perfect smile and that his was the best photo of the day! My son was elated at the compliment because he said that he didn’t know that he had such a good smile.

Proverbs 25:11, ESV, says “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” I like pretty things, soothing things, and when I think about apples of pure gold in a setting of silver, I think of something that is genuinely pleasing to my soul. This was the case when I received the message back from my friend because I never expected it. That message was “fitly spoken”. This was the case when my friend had a few minutes and called to share that time with me. That time was a “word fitly spoken”. This was also the case when my son received the compliment on his smile. It touched him in his soul. That was a “word fitly spoken”. Everyone needs to know that someone cares!

Even the disciples who spent all of their time with Jesus struggled with knowing that they were important to Jesus. This was evident when they argued about it while Jesus shared the last Passover meal with them (Luke 22:24). We are no different than the disciples in our need to know our worth. While we should derive our sense of worth from who we are in Christ, sometimes it’s nice to hear that word fitly spoken that soothes our soul. So as my prayer is answered, God gave me the last piece of the puzzle that had bewildered me in regards to my quest to be a blessing to those in my life.

Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

God reminded me this morning through these verses that the key to showing His love to others in my circle is to live my life in a genuine way. Living the Christian life doesn’t mean we are perfect; it means we love Him and love others with a genuine love that looks beyond our faults. It means we live in His Grace daily, and we extend that Grace to others. It means we truly grasp the full meaning of His Grace in our lives so that we can extend it to others. So let’s get out there and show those in our circle that we love them.

In His Grace!