Shake the dust and walk on
Posted in equally yoked, Hannah's post, shake the dust, walking away 2 comments
In 2 Corinthians 6:14, Paul urges, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
I don't believe Paul is saying we can't be friends with non-Christians. In fact, I believe we should be friendly and kind to everyone, but as believers, it is important that we keep other Spirit-filled people as our support system. Hebrews 10 tells us not to give up meeting together, and to keep encouraging one another. Guys, our core friends should be other bold oxen that are being led in the same direction.
I made the choice to follow the Lord, and I intend to keep plowing on. I know that this life is not an easy road to wander, but the trek is a lot less troubled if we can link up to others who will walk with us, rather than slowing us down or stopping us altogether.
This past year I have been so excited to share some of the things God was doing in my life. I have rejoiced, cried, dance, prayed and sang along with other believers as we go through these big transitions and huge hurts together. I love that I have this fellowship with the saints. And honestly, I will tell anyone who will listen, but when I went to share with one of my closest friends, I was met with her obvious skepticism. The conversation, the flow of the Spirit, hit a brick wall and my "Aha" moment from the Lord turned into a "Nu-uh" moment with my friend.
Needless to say, my friend is not a believer. Although she has always respected my right to choose whatever I wanted to believe, she is not interested in my Savior. She is darn near offended at the idea of anyone "saving" her, and here the problem lies, because I am in desperate need of a Savior. Frankly, I will hit the self-destruct button on my life if given the chance. I'm an idiot. I need the strength of my Savior and the wisdom of the saints, or I simply can't do it.
Friends, I need others to encourage me to die to self, not live for self. I need friends that will call me out, spur me on, pray for me and know that I am praying for them. I think those are the relationships Paul was urging us to seek out, because for believers willing to boast in their weakness like me, it is crucial to keep plowing on effectively. We need the solid, stubborn oxen in our lives to keep up the pace and finish this race.
As fun as this friendship was, it was not a friendship founded in faith. Our friendship was founded on our mutual admiration of red wine, bad reality TV shows, feminism, horror movies, and the 1990s. And yes, those are super fun things, but I felt that I could never take the conversation any deeper. Sure, I tried, but God was not welcome to the proverbial party. And as I dove more into the Word, and the Spirit became alive in my life, I naturally wanted to talk more about my faith and less about, well, let's say, the terrible parents on "Toddlers and Tiaras."
After some time, our friendship began to feel strained. I tried to find mutual mushy ground to meet on, but when it came down to it, I felt like we had very little ground on which to stand. She was not interested in my faith and I was not interested in her lack of faith. It was a friendship roadblock that I didn't know how to fix. She wasn't going to budge and I could not stay blocked.
So, what do you do? You can't just walk away from a friendship standstill, right? That's not a friend that loves at all times. But the thought remained: If the Spirit isn't welcome here and the Spirit is in me, maybe it's time to peacefully walk away.
In Matthew 10:14 Jesus tells his disciples, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet."
Sometimes in life you have to leave to stay who you are. It's not easy, but we were told a long time ago that this path isn't a picnic. But as reflection remembers: I've been on that other road before and I'd choose this peace that passes understanding any day of the week.
Our friendship ended with sad texts and heavy hearts. I can't tell you how awful it is to feel like I'm that quintessential Jesus Freak who walked away, but ultimately, I made the choice to follow the Lord and He sure wasn't leading me there.
I pray for her often and hope someday God will soften her heart and we can walk in the same direction together, but for now, though, it was time to shake the dust and walk on.
Do you have friends and distractions that can cause detours in your life? Is it time to shake the dust in your life?
Needless to say, my friend is not a believer. Although she has always respected my right to choose whatever I wanted to believe, she is not interested in my Savior. She is darn near offended at the idea of anyone "saving" her, and here the problem lies, because I am in desperate need of a Savior. Frankly, I will hit the self-destruct button on my life if given the chance. I'm an idiot. I need the strength of my Savior and the wisdom of the saints, or I simply can't do it.
Friends, I need others to encourage me to die to self, not live for self. I need friends that will call me out, spur me on, pray for me and know that I am praying for them. I think those are the relationships Paul was urging us to seek out, because for believers willing to boast in their weakness like me, it is crucial to keep plowing on effectively. We need the solid, stubborn oxen in our lives to keep up the pace and finish this race.
As fun as this friendship was, it was not a friendship founded in faith. Our friendship was founded on our mutual admiration of red wine, bad reality TV shows, feminism, horror movies, and the 1990s. And yes, those are super fun things, but I felt that I could never take the conversation any deeper. Sure, I tried, but God was not welcome to the proverbial party. And as I dove more into the Word, and the Spirit became alive in my life, I naturally wanted to talk more about my faith and less about, well, let's say, the terrible parents on "Toddlers and Tiaras."
After some time, our friendship began to feel strained. I tried to find mutual mushy ground to meet on, but when it came down to it, I felt like we had very little ground on which to stand. She was not interested in my faith and I was not interested in her lack of faith. It was a friendship roadblock that I didn't know how to fix. She wasn't going to budge and I could not stay blocked.
So, what do you do? You can't just walk away from a friendship standstill, right? That's not a friend that loves at all times. But the thought remained: If the Spirit isn't welcome here and the Spirit is in me, maybe it's time to peacefully walk away.
In Matthew 10:14 Jesus tells his disciples, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet."
Sometimes in life you have to leave to stay who you are. It's not easy, but we were told a long time ago that this path isn't a picnic. But as reflection remembers: I've been on that other road before and I'd choose this peace that passes understanding any day of the week.
Our friendship ended with sad texts and heavy hearts. I can't tell you how awful it is to feel like I'm that quintessential Jesus Freak who walked away, but ultimately, I made the choice to follow the Lord and He sure wasn't leading me there.
I pray for her often and hope someday God will soften her heart and we can walk in the same direction together, but for now, though, it was time to shake the dust and walk on.
Do you have friends and distractions that can cause detours in your life? Is it time to shake the dust in your life?
2 comments:
My dear friend, I am proud of you for making what was obviously a heart-wrenching decision. As you said, you made the choice to follow Jesus, and this relationship was not part of where He is leading you at this point in your life.
Yes, friends and distractions can cause detours -- and unfortunately so can FAMILY. The decision you made about your friendship is one I had to make years ago about my own birth family. When relationships become more toxic than nurturing, and the people in question not only don't respect your beliefs but diss your faith, it's time to shake off the dust.
Thank you for posting this important word, Hannah.
Thank you, Patty! I am humbled and inspired by your story of shaking the dust. Thank you for your constant spurring and encouragement. I appreciate you more than my chatty self could explain. :)
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