Sons of the Kingdom: Fruit of Relationship?

Jesus taught many things in parables, check out the book of Matthew.
Mt 13:10: The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"He replied: "The knowledge of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." Vs. 15 quotes prophesy from the book of Isaiah: "For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them."

Last week, gazing out over the beautiful sea and sipping lattes, my friend Jeanne and I chatted about the cost of relationships. I mentioned I had once asked God about relationships; Were they real? Could they be trusted? Could I count on those I was about to enter into relationship with? I learned a lot from those first friends in my closer walk with God. I also endured a lot of hurt from which I thought I might not recover. That old, walking with a limp sort of thing, you know?To my surprise my friend asked if I had considered that our decisions made about full-time ministry might have paralyzed our former friends so when I needed them most they weren't able? Cut to the quick by the old wound resurfacing, I immediately recognized- 'they also went through tremendous hurt and loss over our decision. They hadn't been prepared to lose friends and co-workers. We had, afterall, believed our families had a destiny together.'

The only way to take care of that scab was to contact those friends. So I wrote them an email, asking forgiveness. I really wasn't expecting to hear back, a one liner, maybe. And that would be the end of the pain, but what about the relationship? Was it to remain lost forever? I gave up expectations of having meaningful relationship long ago. We were on different tracks and in different countries. Yet, to my surprise they both wrote back and they too had been asking God about relationships!

Long story short, "bonding" with these friends had been a joy. Even walking through the hard stuff of life together! Real bonding moments come also in the disagreeing, painful and confusing times as well. Times where we should ove one another enough to rise above our hurts, fears, and disappointments! Even after it seemed our friends had removed themselves from us, there were still times when they stretched out their hand offering covering, defending, and praying; even when we were no longer working with them! Our relationship had never really been thrown out with the baby's bath water, but had become strained and surfacy. Still, there was an unknown something that remained compelling us to re-connect.

Relationships grow and change,though, don't they? When we launched into doing what was in our hearts to do, God gave a profound and powerful prophesy to us! It seems to be taking me a lifetime to figure out what He meant!

The prophesy was a scripture, Hosea 2:14:"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt....I will show my love to the one I called, 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people, You are my people; and they will say, You are my God."

In response I harumphed and said, "Thanks a lot, Stuart, I know I am going into the ghetto/desert!" Perhaps if I had a real clue about what was about to take place, I might have run as far in the other direction as I could go! But today,honestly, God has done exactly what He told us he would do. Leaving that wealth of friends and family support was one of the most difficult decisions of our lives. Yet in our hearts we knew it was a leap of faith God was calling us to take. Further still, it became a terribly painful and lonely season. Much fruit was being produced in the ministry but we, at times, still felt terribly alone and afraid. Our children also suffered loss.

This isn't meant to be a sob story. There were also wonderful opportunities to meet amazing people on the streets, highways and byways. Even moreso now in other countries where we have meaningful relationships with friends we could never in our wildest dreams imagine meeting! We've learned some incredible life lessons. Though we've felt nomadic, like wanderers in the desert, it was like we put our lives on hold. A few months ago a young man in our fellowship saw some of our furniture in storage and remarked: "I could see your very lives had been put on hold for folks like us."

We had trusted God to restore what the locusts had eaten and moved on, leaving our dear, beloved friends behind. They would make new ones and so would we. In the early days our new friends were the folks we were meeting on the streets of Atlanta; the homeless and the poor. They became like family to us. And many today even in Cape Town are continuing to rebuild their lives and helping others to do the same. We are rich in those friendships, but I always mourned those first bonding, "bosom" friends with whom we had first shared the love of Christ. It wasn't the kind of mourning where I walked around in ashes and sackcloth; just a gap in my heart that couldn't be filled by any others.

I would tell myself it's the cost of discipleship and go on about the things I thought I was doing for the Lord. The first believers had to be persecuted to go spread the good news. Were they so strongly in relationship that it took the persecution to bust them up to get them to go do what God had commanded them to do? Did they still think and pray for one another and try to keep in touch? I see my friends in visions here, helping us in Africa! Relationships in the Kingdom aren't focussed around location, but the relationships God has birthed among us! Who has been at the root of keeping our friends and us apart? Surely not God! We can only grow stronger in Him and them! I believe we are rebuilding the gates like Nehemiah did all over the world! I even believe we can work together with those friends here in Africa and in America together! The fondness in our hearts for our friends didn't grow dim, but the love of Christ we've shared together compelled us forward into our destinies. Today we see our relationships are key treasures, divinely given to help us advance the Kingdom all the more!!! Do we have to wait til we get to heaven fora reunion with those first friends? Isn't the Kingdom's ultimate message about reunion? God's word does not return to Him void, so divine relationships are testimonies to His truth! Through Hosea God said, "In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.'" Doesn't this mean we will know him more intimately, that our friendship will change and even grow closer? Jesus says that others will know us by our love, then by Christ's love are we thus bound! To love one another, to be for one another, no matter how far the call takes us.

He said in that day He would make a covenant for us- bow and sword and battle will be abolished. He says He will betroth us to Him forever- in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion, in faithfulness and we will acknowledge the Lord. And this is where our relationship began! With God and with one another! It's what God would use to bring His Kingdom!

I want my friends to know I love them!! I miss them! I miss the richness of their wealth of knowledge and experience that also enriches my husband and I in our relationship and our family/ministry. I miss sharing life changing stories of God's love and faithfulness! And I know, despite 8,000 miles of separation, the place they have in my heart grows fonder still, everyday! This is the message of Jesus' Kingdom, His Bride! The story of the ten virgins used to truly sadden me. How could those five who had enough not want to share? Maybe they'd offered it many times before but the other five had hardened their hearts. Please, friends, let our hearts no longer be calloused. Let God restore what the locusts have eaten! People will see Jesus in our relationship, even and especially from such a distance, so much so that it will give others hope for healing and restoration. Isn't the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord upon us, too?

Matthew 13:37: "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the Kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angles, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."