Friendships

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. (NIV)

Boy is this good advice! I am always telling my two sons to mind their own business and quit monitoring everything the other says and does. Last night in our Friends class (Wed. night class for middle school girls) we were talking about how to mend broken friendships. One of the girls shared that a friend spread a rumor about her. I was encouraging the girls to stick up for one another and spread the truth when they hear a rumor being spread. But with all we were talking about, it really hit us all where it hurts when we discussed:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (NIV)

We all admitted that we have trouble with bringing up things the other person has done wrong in the past when we are angry. We also talked about the fact that we may have a hard time forgiving from time to time. We all agreed, though that if Jesus can die for us while we were still sinners, we can forgive others. Jesus didn't wait until we acted right and stopped sinning. He decided to die for our sins even when we didn't want to be forgiven! So if Jesus can suffer God's rejection, physical and mental torture, and die for us in our place when He was perfect and didn't deserve it - we can surely love others, quit monitoring everything they say and do, keep no record of wrongs and forgive them --- with GOD'S help.