Together Is Beautiful

Even after tending to my relationship with the Lord and my relationships with my friends; I will still fall short of perfect friendship. Our friends will disappoint us, we will hurt feelings, and sometimes we may even feel like giving up on friendship. Imperfect people trying to mimic the holy union of God are going to fail. Though we may experience beautiful moments with our friends, they are only a shadow of what is to come—dwelling in perfect communion with God and each other. Revelation 21:3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God’” (ESV).

So when the bad days hit and you feel empty or discouraged in your friendships, remember that this is not the complete picture God has in store for your community.

For now, we work out our desires for community in the family of God. We fight for togetherness when the enemy tries to pit us against one another. We choose to love and bear burdens even when our hearts are hurting. We adopt mercy and forgiveness over frustration and bitterness. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, ESV). Together, with God, is truly a beautiful place to be now and for eternity.

Pray

“Thank you, Lord, for demonstrating love and true friendship to us—reaching down, meeting us where we are, and caring for us. Help us to be an example of this type of love to the people around us. Encourage our hearts when they get hard, and give us endurance to run our races until the day you come and create your perfect Kingdom on earth.”