As I write this, the sun is rising over a cold Texas morning and I cannot help but think of how similar Texas winter days are to Johannesburg winter days. Frosty ground on dormant grass, with big blue skies overhead which seem to reflect the cold rather than offer the warmth that the unhindered access to the sun would usually afford. The day is just beginning here, and I know that it is ending for my friends across the globe. The Lord made the day for me just as He did for them, and He gifts the grace and mercies that we will need to begin this day as He does for those whose day is winding down.

What a big and small world. What grace to call more than one place home.

I read somewhere recently that true friendship is like a sacrament of sorts, and I think I agree with that. Friendship, well practiced, is a spiritually formative reminder of the love and grace of Christ manifested in and through the loving presence, patience, and pursuit of His image bearers. One can’t help but feel the presence of Christ when a friends shows you grace at your least lovable. It is a very Christ-like thing to do. It has happened to me many times and continues to happen to me in the life of the church that I get to be part of today.  

As a pastor, you tend to enter into people’s lives in the deep end. It is usually something significant that results in you being drawn into their orbit. A loss, a gain, a wedding, a funeral, a divorce, or a divorce they’re trying to avoid. This means that there is an instant intimacy that feels like a friendship, but often isn’t. You are a service provider, you just don’t know that. 
You think that perhaps you are a friend trying to help.