That Kind of Friend

I've talked about my best friend, Lisa, before . . . how awesome she is, how crafty she is, how generous she is . . . she rocks!

But the thing I love most about Lisa and her husband Charlie (who goes by C3 in our house) is that they live out Hebrews 10:24 in our life . . . "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."  They are definitely "iron sharpening iron" for us.

Don't get me wrong . . . we talk about what our kids are eating, how to discipline, how to lose weight, etc.  But we also talk a lot about how God is teaching us, confronting our sin, challenging us as followers of Christ.

Everyone needs a friend like that.  A friend who when you confess sin won't just try to make you feel better about yourself because compared to others you aren't that bad, but instead will let you confess and cry, but then commit to holding you accountable to walking in the Spirit.  A friend who won't roll her eyes and try to talk you out of it when you talk about how God might be calling you to something "radical", but will push you in taking that leap of faith . . . and might actually jump on that journey with you . . . because what could be better than doing it together?!

This happened last week as I talked with Lisa about my wrestlings with Luke 12 that I wrote about in my last post.  She just "happened" to be reading Luke 11-15 each day in her own time in the Word so she knew exactly how God was speaking to my heart . . . He was doing the same in hers.

So I'm talking about purging and sacrificing for others in need and she says, "I get it and I'm about to send you a video that will push you over the edge!"

Not "But Cole, you need all that stuff." or "Cole, you can't make a huge difference with what little you have so why even bother."  or "Cole, aren't you being a little extreme?"  But "Let me be your real best friend and partner in the Gospel and just give you that shove you need so we both go falling into radical abandonment to Jesus."

Love her.  And C3 too.  (Chad and C3 have these same conversations, though somehow they don't take near as long as ours do!)

Here's the video Lisa sent me.  It is part of a sermon from Francis Chan and is so heartbreakingly true.  I (we) have been a huge loser in the game of Follow the Leader and Simon Jesus Says.  I've not done what He has clearly asked of me in Scripture.  And my disobedience shows what is truly in my heart . . . a lack of compassion for those hurting around me and that I've closed my eyes to the emergencies in our world that I can help alleviate.

So watch the video.  Let God speak.  Then obey.  And if you don't have a friend that will push you over the edge into radically following Christ . . . find one.  And make sure that you are that kind of friend too.