Friendship and Impacts

I went to my dad's church today and the topic of the service was to follow Jesus by doing the actions he did. In the case servants being the highest position in the Christian sense of the hierarchy of their environment. We discussed the setting of the Last Supper in which Jesus was in one of his most humiliating scenes in the Bible. When Jesus disrobes himself, ties a towel around his waist and gets down on his knees and washes the feet of His Disciples. Every time I picture this, my eyes almost start watering. Seeing Jesus acting as a lowly servant of the world washing the feet of his most beloved and closest friends. I think to myself, how humiliating and how I feel that way about myself sometimes. But of course, when Peter questions his actions, Jesus replies telling him that if He does not was the feet of His disciples they shall not have a part of him and that they should wash each others feet as well. This presenting to us that we're all servants of the world, but honestly, we should be servants of Christ.

What I gained from this was not just that lesson, but I was suddenly recalled to the words of love and this verse: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."-John 15:13 (My life verse). It sounds arrogant to say this but in a sense of the word humility I feel the humblest of all my friends. I often feel like the lowly servant who is there to give love and listen to the troubles of whoever comes to me. I offer an opinion, but I often feel like it's not taken to heart by most people. I feel I have the potential to really find someone who needs to hear a friendly greeting from somebody; anybody in the world just to make their day better before they do something as drastic as considering to take their life. Somebody once said, you have no idea what a single act of kindness, generosity, or befriending can do to ignite one's passion in their lives. For me, my passion is to show compassion those who need it and to lead them on the right path towards a greater life.

Then you ask me, "What's so great about life? Surely, you have a hard life too?" Of course I do. I struggle with temptation everyday, I make decisions that could definitely affect me in the long run either negatively or positively, and I often argue or find myself angered by somebody at least once a day. The life of a person is hard, but the life of a Christian is even harder. Yet in my eyes, I would think the one person who doesn't know Christ and is suffering often leads the way to a cursed, sinful life. We all know these people in our society, often the stereotypical bad boys, hoodlums, gangsters, drug and sex addicts, and compulsive liars and  constant swearers. There's many more to be listed, but I don't dare go that far. We all have our names for them, but you know these people. Yet how many would dare lend a helping hand to them when they needed it? Perhaps society has taught us to leave these people alone. Leave these rejects to suffer and wallow in their pathetic lives only to suffer worse and worse each and every single day. And yes, I'm speaking to myself as well. How wrong and sick I've been! I was at one time of my life, one of those people in society.

I made the wrong decisions. No, I didn't do drugs, I'm still a virgin and engaged in no sexual acts, but I was a reject of society and often was the target for those who would find it cool and get a fix out of bringing people lower than the possible low. It makes me happy to see how some of these people actually matured nowadays in some senses, but it saddens me to hear how many of them already have slept around or experimented with wrong substances. You may be wondering, "How did you become the way you are today?" I'll gladly tell you. His name is God, who answers the prayers of those who are patient and who are desperate for His saving grace and everlasting love. He answered my prayer for salvation with a friend. That's right, just one friend.

This wasn't just any friend, he was the friend I had prayed to have after years of praying after hurt and sorrow seemed to take over my life. When I met him, it seemed like the most impossible thing int he world to be friends with this guy. He contradicted "my way of living" in so many ways that I was almost convinced he couldn't be even an acquaintance. But something made me stop and think one day. He showed me a personality that seemed to change my way of thinking. I had never experienced so much understanding, so much wisdom and great advice, and so much love and compassion. But I was still stubborn and I couldn't trust him as I didn't know him too long and I was having "friend" troubles already at that point in my life. Life was horrible and he seemed like a shining light in the dark. Little did I know one day when he told me God has a better life for me and better plans for my life; it'd change my life forever.

This friend took me to church and I eventually connected to God and gave Him my life so that I could experience the everlasting love of God and His saving grace to end the sinful decisions that seemed to rule my life. This tying back with the original point, I was but a lowly humiliated person in my life and in a way, Jesus washed away my sin. This all because of the one friend who went out of his way to lend me a helping hand and turn my life around by showing me a new life to walk with Jesus Christ.

I'm now aspiring to become a pastor and help others just as I was helped in my life. That friend who showed me the light is now my best bud for life. And my youth pastor is my teacher in which I follow his ways of teaching so that I may one day too live a life of helping others. God has been gracious enough to bless me with more than just one friend nowadays. I've become closer with one of my acquaintances who lives states away. Both these amazing close friends of mine keep my faith going through words of compassion and encouragement. I'd gladly lay my life down for these friends. And it's true; you never know how much a little act of kindness, generosity, or befriending could ignite the passion of one's life. How awesome is Our God!