Devoted Friends
Romans 12: 9 -12 (NIV)
Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.
'Devoted', a word often used to describe puppies or spouses. It's one I find hard to apply to everyday life: what does it look like to be devoted to one another? Humans of New York to the rescue - in a post on Jan 26th, Brandon Stanton retold the story of two brothers, Rahim and Mo and their journey from Guinea to the USA, a journey of loss, grief and hope. Towards the end, Brandon quotes Mo saying: ‘There were a lot of mornings I didn’t want to get out of bed. But Rahim wouldn’t let me.....Every morning at 6 am, he’d knock on my door, get me out of bed, take me to the park across the street from Yankee Stadium, and we’d run laps, and do exercises. I didn’t want to do any of it. But he kept coming back, every morning, asking if I was ready to go. I wanted to tell him no. But it’s hard to say no when it’s your brother.’
It's a beautiful picture of what devotion to one another looks like. Being devoted to one another means sometimes forgoing comfort and always 'going above and beyond' to ensure that our brothers and sisters are taken care of. It means looking out for those on the outskirts to ensure that they get connected into community; it means sharing in each other’s joy and pain; it means constantly encouraging each other.
In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are an example of that devotion: they refused to bow to down to the King’s image and consequently were condemned to die. It definitely wasn’t easy to take that stand, but such was their love for God and their devotion to each other that they stood together and were thrown into a fiery furnace. (Spoiler alert! Saved by God!)
We were created for community and connection. Today, reach out to a friend, encourage them, pray for them, be there for them, stand with them in a difficult situation.
Prayer — Father, thank you for the joy of friendship. Help me to cultivate deeper friendships where I can be encouraged and encourage others.