Much Sense, and the Best of Friends

Hello, friends.

Monday was Nonsense, Tuesday was Some Sense, which makes today Much Sense. I asked a good friend what I should write about today, and she thought about it for a minute, and then she said, "Woof." I'm not sure what that means...

She also told me to watch the Lenten devotional video from Hales Corners Lutheran Church and write about that, so here goes!

The title of the video was "Love is... honest."

That actually resonates with me quite a bit. My closest friends are the ones with whom I feel safe being honest - whether that honesty is positive or negative. I like to use words of affirmation, but frequently I'll say them in a joking tone for fear of... what, I'm not sure exactly. With my closest friends, I do everything in my power to make sure they know how much I love and appreciate them. I
also like to point out things that aren't good for my friends. If I know they're doing something potentially harmful to themselves, whether physically or psychologically or spiritually, I bring it up. I don't let those things slide with my people. They're my friends! I love them too much for that.

That's how God treats us. He's way better at it than I am, obviously. He is always honest with us. He tells us how He really feels about us - His words of affirmation are found everywhere in the Bible, even the very first chapter:

"And (on the day He created humanity) God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good." -Genesis 1:31

We are very good, God's most precious creation, the one He formed in His own image. He loves us so much that we can't even imagine it.

Of course, God is also not willing to let us do bad things. He speaks to us plainly about anger, lust, divorce, retaliation, greed, anxiety, and judgment - and that's just in the Sermon on the Mount alone. God is not okay with it when we harm ourselves or others. He tells us exactly how He feels about that.

Honesty, to me, is the best form of friendship. Sure, good friends make jokes and help you move and feed you pizza, but they also can be trusted with the things that weigh heavy on your heart.

God is that friend for you. He loves you, and because He loves you, He will always be honest with you, and you can always be honest with Him. Lent is the perfect time to reflect on that.

.
.
.
Whoa, what a shift, eh? See, I can still write serious blog posts. Tomorrow, however, look forward to some punny jokes.