Intentional living

I received a call today from a friend in great need. I have been speaking to him on a regular basis over the last few weeks and all seemed to be fine. That is until today. He called to open up about what he had been walking through. I will say I was a bit suprised to hear about his previous week. Not disappointed not let down just suprised. It really hit me today that we don't really know what goes on behind closed doors do we?


We can sometimes paint people into a corner with our assumptions. We like to assume everything is okay with everyone around us because we don't really want to know the truth. What's the old saying? "What we don't know won't bother us." No I think it's what we don't know won't infringe on our time." Maybe it's "what we don't know won't take us out of our comfort zone." Whatever my failing 40 year old memory can't recall I do know we can feel like we're supposed to be the person others perceive us to be.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not espousing pop psychology and blaming everyone else for our shortcomings. You and I are ultimately responsible for how we live and how we respond to others. I'm just saying we could be doing a little better when it comes to meeting people where they truly are and not where we think they are.


It was a big step for my friend to lay it all out there to me today. He was a little scared to call and tell me. I blame myself for that to a certain extent because I haven't done a good job of dealing with him where he is, only where I perceived him to be.


How many people do we have in our lives that we're treating the same way? My guess is that for most of us it would be many. Most of us aren't intentional in our relationships. They just float by like clouds on a lazy afternoon. There is no purpose in our conversation and no method to our actions. I don't support having actions that are contrived, just meaningful.


Relationships can slowly fade away with the lack of intentional pursuit. They won't dissappear in an instant but you'll notice it the instant they're gone.


I can't think of a relationship that is more valuable to pursue than one with Jesus Christ. Do we start our day purposely seeking to glorify God or do we just let life come at us and pick up our "God shield" every time we need to deflect something that could be hurtful or inconvienient?


At different times in my years I have exhibited a faith of convenience. Bringing it to the forefront when the tsunami was ready to break on top of me instead of vacating the coastline the second the warning came.


We can't afford to live a life without intention. There is too much at stake. The very moment you finish reading this blog I challenge you to tell God exactly how you're going to honor Him for the next 10 minutes. Then do it. I am going to do the same.