Friendship

I have always been taught that a job worth doing deserves to be done well and done with quality in mind.  I take this point of view into the ministry role in which I am presently serving as well as the other responsibilities that I have as a husband, father, and grandfather.  But this morning I want to encourage you to do your best in your role as a friend, mentor, and Christian witness in the community in which you live and serve.  Is it not true that each of us are called to serve?  Each of us just serve in different areas and capacities of service to our fellow human beings.  Doing our best to serve with quality will be very rewarding not only to those that we are serving but it will also be very rewarding to those of us who are offering their service.  Many of us have walked away from an opportunity to serve and we felt such a sense of accomplishment realizing that God had used us to be a blessing to someone. 

Friendship and mentorship have been on my mind the past few days.  I desire to have good friends but do I desire to be a good friend.  Do I truly desire to offer "quality" friendship to individuals that God places in my life?  Do I truly do my best to invest my life in various individuals that God places in my life for a specific reason or purpose?  Do I seek to become a better person through the development of friendship and do I seek to assist that friend of mine to become a better person?  I recently read this quote of Mother Teresa; "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier."  I was deeply challenged by those words.  How do people feel once they leave my presence?  Are they encouraged or discouraged?  Did they sense the presence of God at work in my life or did they identify the absence of God?  Would they feel comfortable introducing me to their friends and be willing to identify me as a friend of theirs?  Friends bear great responsibility for each other and I am learning that I desire for God to help me become a better friend/mentor to those who God places in my life.  I trust that this post will encourage you and me to inventory our lives and see what areas of friendship needs improving.

Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (NIV)