Seperation
I'm going to rant on something, then I'm sure I'll feel better. Please don't take anything personally.
I've heard a lot of people, lately, talking about how they need to spend more time with fewer people, that they've been spreading themselves too thin. Frankly, that bothers me. I get that people need deep, solid friendships, and that friendships like that take a lot of work to cultivate. I'm all for discipleship, and believe that investing in a small group of people can be Earth-changing.
However, we need to be careful that we don't close ourselves off. We need to make sure we are a warm and welcoming people. I think it is always a huge temptation to stick with people that help you to grow and make you comfortable, your "group". We would do ourselves a huge disservice if we closed our eyes to new people that God would bless us with. People who only stick with the same group of people eventually cease to grow as they might otherwise be able to. We NEED to interact with many different people for our growth as well as theirs.
I think we need to take the early church of ACTS as an example. They lived in fellowship with everyone. No where in Acts does it say that "they devoted themselves to hanging out in small, specific groups, ignoring anyone else who might happen to come along, hoping that some other people would welcome them." It says "they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to the fellowdhip, to the breaking of bread and to prayer... All the believers were together and had everything in common...And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2)
So by all means, have people in your life that are close. Its not bad to have a group. Jesus had His twelve disciples, and then the "inner circle" of Peter, James and John. Just be careful to not get filled up from them, and fall into the trap of thinking they're all you need. That only leads to fear of changing the dynamic. Be filled up from God, be in loving relationship with your friends, and seek to meet and love others.
I think that if we choose to section off the body of Christ, we are letting the enemy have a very substancial foothold, and we definately need to be aware of it. I'm as guilty of it as anyone else. I just think that we are already pre-disposed to not loving our brothers. Why would we intentionally handicap ourselves further?
I've heard a lot of people, lately, talking about how they need to spend more time with fewer people, that they've been spreading themselves too thin. Frankly, that bothers me. I get that people need deep, solid friendships, and that friendships like that take a lot of work to cultivate. I'm all for discipleship, and believe that investing in a small group of people can be Earth-changing.
However, we need to be careful that we don't close ourselves off. We need to make sure we are a warm and welcoming people. I think it is always a huge temptation to stick with people that help you to grow and make you comfortable, your "group". We would do ourselves a huge disservice if we closed our eyes to new people that God would bless us with. People who only stick with the same group of people eventually cease to grow as they might otherwise be able to. We NEED to interact with many different people for our growth as well as theirs.
I think we need to take the early church of ACTS as an example. They lived in fellowship with everyone. No where in Acts does it say that "they devoted themselves to hanging out in small, specific groups, ignoring anyone else who might happen to come along, hoping that some other people would welcome them." It says "they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to the fellowdhip, to the breaking of bread and to prayer... All the believers were together and had everything in common...And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2)
So by all means, have people in your life that are close. Its not bad to have a group. Jesus had His twelve disciples, and then the "inner circle" of Peter, James and John. Just be careful to not get filled up from them, and fall into the trap of thinking they're all you need. That only leads to fear of changing the dynamic. Be filled up from God, be in loving relationship with your friends, and seek to meet and love others.
I think that if we choose to section off the body of Christ, we are letting the enemy have a very substancial foothold, and we definately need to be aware of it. I'm as guilty of it as anyone else. I just think that we are already pre-disposed to not loving our brothers. Why would we intentionally handicap ourselves further?
posted by Laura Ibsen @ 12:45 PM
2 Comments:
At 5:20 PM, June 14, 2005,
Bethany said…
Laura,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. However, I would ask that you be cautious in your wording. In one line you say "WE NEED", when in reality it is my belief that we cannot discern the needs of others. What builds one up may cause another to fall.
I do not believe that by choosing to focus on a few people are choosing to be exclusive. They are simply prioritizing in a way. By all means I do not believe that they are choosing not to love. Focus, acceptance and fellowship are all very different things.
I have about 7 people that I focus my time on. However, I have about 30+ people that I give my time to on a weekly basis, 70+ that I give it to on a bi-weekly basis and the list goes on from there. I would not consider myself an unaccepting person and I definitely wouldn't consider myself exclusive.
I think each individual following Christ needs to ask Christ what Christ requires of them in the aspect of friendship. I require a few to be what I call AMTF's. Absolute Most True Friends, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't require me to befriend someone new each week. Does that make sense? Or not?
It is simply MY opinion and I don't intend it to be the opinion of anyone else. Be blessed today my friend.
At 12:10 PM, June 15, 2005,
Anonymous said…
I agree with both.. There needs to be a happy medium of focus on a few and being nice and loving to the masses.
I don't want to focus on people who haven't seeked me out. If I focus on them, (and I did for a long time) I get tired, beaten with depressed thoughts, which actually creates a bigger separation than if I didn't seek them out or focus on them.
That doesn't mean in any way that I am not loving. That doesn't mean I can't say hi, or talk with them at gatherings. It just means I am not going out of my way for them. But once you start focusing on a few and stop "spreading yourself too thin" as I did, you start to find that the few isnt actually a few in terms of maybe a handfull of people. It may be 2 hands full and 2 feet full. But you do find out quickly those who seek your friendship and love VS. those who only seek your time.
I want to focus people who seek the 1st of those 2 options. If I spend time with the 2nd, chances are I will not be loving becuase I know their intentions and I would rather be with the others...
If i spend time and efforts with those who don't seek me, I am acting unloving towards those who do seek me.
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