The Open Door

Greater love has no one then this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

I am starting my week feeling extremely blessed. I had a wonderful weekend with my friends. On Friday night I got to see a friend that I have known since I was 8 years old and on Sunday I spent the afternoon with one of my girlfriends here at home.

I have wonderful friends. They lift me up when I am down, they pray for me when I am hurting, they encourage me when I need a little push forward. Everyone needs friends. I came across the above verse this morning in John 15:13. I know that Jesus laid down his life for us (his friends) by dying on the cross. But I also know that I need to lay down my life for my friends.

What does that mean to me? Most importantly I think it means sharing my faith with my friends. There is no greater gift you can give a friend than to share with them the gift they can receive by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

I think that another way to lay my life down for my friends is to always be available to them. I will be the first to admit that I am domestically challenged. When you walk through the doors to my home, it is not always put together. In fact sometimes, it is actually a little scary. However, I want my friends to know that my door is always open. I love it when my friends come over and it doesn't happen often enough.

It is sad to say, but a phrase that can sometimes be cliche is "I will pray for you". When I say this to my friends, I want them to know that I will pray for them. I pray for them even when they don't ask. I pray for them when I can tell they need to feel God's arms wrapped around them. There are many times when we don't have the words or the strength to pray for ourselves, but we have friends that will intercede for us and God is listening.

Are you laying your life down for your friends? In this world of technology we have access to our friends like never before. And I know that I am horrible at keeping in touch, but even if I don't call often enough or send a little note on the computer often enough. I am here for you. I love all of you. And I will lay my life down for every one of you.

My door is always open (and if you are a little scared by what you see, we can always have a cup of coffee on the porch). :0)