I think we all have people in our lives who we have disappointed or who have let us down. People we’ve been in hard and awkward situations with that effect our preference towards them. Terrible first impressions that shape our thoughts and actions, or just overall apathy towards another person’s passions or choices. What I like to call “the funk”. Well, recently I have been super convicted about resetting my system preferences file on relationships and friendships. Truly give a second, third and fourth chance. To not be afraid to step into relationships where I have failed and say that I am sorry, or just let the past be exactly that.
We have all heard of burning bridges, but I think at times we get so black and white that we forget to examine the gray, and this to me is where the whole funk thing comes in. We don’t burn the bridge, we simply don’t use it. This, to me, can be even worse. Not knowing where you stand can be a soul crushing type of thing. No one knows what happened, it just stopped. Sucks!
Not preaching, just sharing a personal conviction that just hit me in the form of an email. Not even a direct call out, just an email from a friend who has not been getting the benefit of the doubt for a while.
A common thread for me in my personal study is to get to a place where I say “Wow, I never could have done that”. I mean, name the scenario…
- Stepping into a fiery furnace
- Building an arc
- Walking on water
- Trusting in God completely when thrown into prison, a whale, a lion’s den, you name it
- Face a giant with a rock and a sling
The one thing that obviously would have been the hardest would be giving my life on a cross for a world full of people like me. In the gospels I am constantly floored by the grace and forgiveness that Jesus extends to EVERYONE. Maybe I could start with extending it to my friends, colleagues, business partners first and then God will give me the courage and strength to extend it to the lost. To truly be a disciple.
Just a thought from a daily sinner. Thank God for his grace, cause I need it. Alot of it.
Tags: grace, relationships, trust
