We can't be friends with everybody. That would dilute the meaning of friendships. But we should be open to friendships that develop. Maybe we should even seek them out as the ultimate way to change the world.
One of the core values of Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore that a book group discovered was the authentic friendship that developed between the upper middle class do-gooder and the homeless artist that he unwittingly befriended. But in all the discussion that ensued about how we can take part in the life changing work that makes the book so compelling, no one touched on befriending a homeless person as a way to go.
We have mentor programs and big brother and big sister programs, but not friend programs. Because I guess it doesn't work that way. I even tried to develop a frientor program one time: no takers.
But we can't stick our stake in the ground and proclaim that "we aren't here to make friends" either.
I went on a college visit last week and was fortunate enough for my daughter to spend some time with some friends at the school we were visiting. They became friends because they were in her youth group and because I had been on mission trips with them and because my wife has become great friends with one of the girl's mother.
All because of the church.
As one church pulled up to unload all of it's stuff at the community outreach program, a couple of friends from another church pulled up and picked up their friend to go and do a project in a community garden.
Programs and friends doing stuff together. Two different ways to go. Which one has the best chance to make a difference? Which one do we focus on more?
We're here to make friends. Me with you. You with each other. And them with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment