Friends of God

During one of the night worship times we were singing Nothing but the Blood. A song that we've all sung countless times.

I think that sometimes when we know a song that well, the words lose their power. Kind of like we're mindlessly just singing the melody while our mind wanders elsewhere: who we're gonna hang out with after, what kind of pizza we're gonna have delivered to the dorm, and unfortunately, the reality of the to-do list we have when we get home. Any number of things can go through our minds while we're singing words that have lost their meaning.

To me that's not very worshipful. So when I find my mind wandering, I stop singing and just read the words on the screen. So that's what I did during this song. Just read the words, and closed my eyes listening to the many voices in the room singing and worshipping the same God.

As I was listening, one lyric hit me really hard. It wasn't new or different, but just focusing on the words can point out lyrics you never really paid attention to before: "welcomed as the friends of God." It took my breath away.

That God would welcome us, not just 'let' us, but welcome us. As friends. When we had done absolutely nothing to deserve it, while we were filthy and ashamed, He welcomed us all the same.

I think we have the tendency to choose our friends based on our similar interest. What activities we're involved in, mutual friends, even sometimes looks.

As if the lyric didn't hit me hard enough, the pastor got up and read 1 John 5:1 "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child has well."

He welcomed us when we were dirty and broken, as friends.

So who are we to choose or not choose people, to be our friends, because of their circumstances?

We have to love them if we love God. No matter how different we are, how weird we think that person is, what our other friends think..it doesn't matter. If we love God we will love His children. Because we're "Welcomed as the friends of God."

xKassiex