friendship

There was an upper school assembly along at the Primary School today.

It's good to be there with a chance to chat with the children before it gets underway.

The Head was doing the talk again today. And he introduced the value for the month. Friendship.

He's keen on these values which, at the rate of one a month, he's trying to feed into the psyche of the children and the school. And I'm glad to help, since by and large the values which he's wanting to instil are all there in the Bible, every one!

He asked the children what they understood by 'friendship'. And first hand up, this girl declared it's being there for a person in their need. Always.

It struck me once again how much of what they learn is through the things that they experience. They know what it's like to need someone there. And they know what it's like when there is someone there.

That's how they understand what friendship is.

And it crossed my mind again how if I'm going to get across the message which God gives, it must be in and through experience.

If I want to share who Jesus is, I've got to show that friendship to these guys. Be there for them. Spend time with them. Sit with them. Play with them. Laugh with them. Cry with them.

Be with them.

Which means investing time.

I can't do that with everyone, of course. But then, neither could Jesus. I have to learn from him just whom it is with whom my time is to be spent.

Most pastors spread their time out way too thin, I think. Mainly because that's what their people expect. Everyone wants a share of their time.

Which is daft. It doesn't work like that at all. Jesus didn't work like that at all.

In fact, that just doesn't work. Full stop.

You can't accomplish anything with anyone without investing time.

Back in June I had this sense from God that I should 'free up' time. I was asked if I'd take another student for this year.

It was tempting. I enjoy the challenge which that supervisory role entails. And it's great to be able to work with a student.

But I said 'No'. Politely. I wasn't sure why, other than that nagging sense that God was somehow calling me to free up time this year. So that I could be in at the school far more.

Investing time with people there. Children, teachers, janitor: secretaries, classroom assistants, and kitchen staff: the lollipop ladies, the students on placements. A whole compact community.

People. You can't accomplish anything if you spread yourself too thin. Relationship is everything - and relationship means time.

I guess I'm in at the school these days some three or four times each week. On average. Part of their life in some small way. Just there. Investing time.

'Being there for a person when they need you,' as the girl I mentioned put it in the course of the assembly earlier on.

Strange how a day works out in that respect! I called by in the afternoon to see a man who's not been well. I rang the bell and waited. Expecting his wife to come to the door.

In fact it was his neice. A mix of sheer perplexity and wonder on her face. The man himself had died a mere half hour or so before. And here I was so promptly at their door. 'Being there for a person when they need you' sort of thing.

I think she was slightly bemused as to how I could possibly have known. I didn't, of course. But the Lord, he knows. And I guess he led me round to .. well, simply be there with them at that moment of bereavement and of need.

Friendship. The friendship of Christ, expressed in these tangible ways.

The Wednesday lunchtime services are great that way. A weekly chance to spend some time with folk. To worship, learn and then to eat and chat. It provides a weekly context where relationships can grow.

I'm glad we hold them weekly now. These services. I enjoy them myself a lot.

Today I was leading the service myself and finishing off our reading through the book of Ruth. What a wonderful book it is! And that same old theme of 'friendship' running through it all.

Ruth being there for Naomi. Naomi being there for her. Boaz being there for Ruth and Naomi alike. And the Lord being there for them all.

Friendship.

The Lord comes to be our friend. You are my friends, he says.

And then we simply go and work that out in how we live our lives as well! Simple.

So it was great to end the day in the company of friends. The 'climate change chat room' again.

A chance to sit and chat through Scripture and to see just what it means. To hear what God is saying in these days. To catch a glimpse of where it is he's leading us and what that will involve.

It was like he came and sat with us as well. Spend time with us. And shared his heart with us again. A friend among friends.