SOAP Notes

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August 26, 2008
Jeremiah 50-51; 3 John 1

S: Jeremiah 50:3-5
"For a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away! In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek. They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.”

O: Although this particular verse discusses a particular time, wherein the sons of Israel will seek the Lord in despair and be given a great victory, I think it pretty well wraps up the sort of situation that, typically, helps Christians remember what (or rather Who) they’re about.

A: The funny, or tragic, thing about Christianity for many people, often including myself, is that it’s a religion of desperation. My faith is strongest when I’m in the direst straits, which isn’t saying much, because so often my faith is barely existent. For so many, the time that we come to the Lord, where we draw near to Him and whisper hymns of praise and love, are those times when we’re just looking for a deliverance or a miracle or a provision. We’re suck-ups and sycophants, suddenly playing Yes-Man in the hopes that we’ll get what we want out of the relationship through sheer flattery and lip service.

The stable Christians, the real devout ones, see this for what it is. So, of course, does Jesus. Although Jesus is always happy to have our attention, and always longs to have us focused on Him for our provision, how off-putting it must be to only see us when we want something out of Him. Whereas devout people of God make Him a part of their daily life and include Him in their ongoing struggle, the fledgling masses continue just to see Him as a shelter in a storm.

I know the difference between friends of commitment and friends of convenience. I have friends who are always there for me, who care about me when their life is good or bad (and, likewise, when mine is good or bad), and who aren’t there to use me. And I have “friends” who only show up when there’s something in it for them.

Worse, I’m that “friend” to some, and I know it going in.

In those times of “friend”ship, where I’m being used, I can’t wait for my “friend” to leave so I can get back to enjoying true friends. In those same times, where I’m the one glad-handing and siphoning from the goodwill of others, I know they’re just humoring me as long as is necessary to get me away.

And, so, the application: I need to be a friend to Jesus, and not just a “friend.” I need to spend time with Him everyday, whether I have an acute need to attend to or not. For although Jesus, miraculously, doesn’t lose patience with our failings, God forbid someday I should show up in a time of need and have Him say “get away from me, you parasite! You pay me lip service, but I know you don’t really care.” God forbid that moment come, because (of course) He’d be speaking the truth, and I’d have no defense. Thank God that moment won’t come, but it makes my heart sick to think of such a time…

P: Lord, thank you for my true friends, and for the model they are to me of what true friendship is. Help me, Lord, to understand that You, too, are a friend, and that You want a relationship with me. Not one of convenience, and not one born out of acute need. Help me to respect You enough to include You, and help me to be a true friend to You, just as You have always been a true friend to me. Amen.