Chapter 3 - Seeing God in Our Friendships

God prepared George to be ready to receive the Truth, His rhema for George. I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future] (Jo 16:12-13). The Living Word became real to George.

"When you hit somebody over the head with Bible information, you're not sharing the gospel. Forcing Bible facts and figures and verses is not sharing the Word. George reflected, "Maybe that sounds cynical, but it's got to be living that Word. It's got to be Life at the time of a person's need. We have been guilty of providing Bible bullets when someone needed a hand.

"And it's our God-awful need to be right and to think that we've got the answers to everybody's problems. It was not necessarily that many of the things Job's friends said were not accurate. Their words were right, but they were wrong."

George did not make this journey alone. "Sam has been a good friend for a very long time. Because he understood he was a fellow traveler on this road both religiously and in recovery, we had a bond. It was just him being there; he understood it; he had been there; this was not new territory; there was no judgment." Jesus qualified the call through mentoring. He mentored them through friendship.

For three years He trudged with them down the dusty roads, over mountains, through valleys, in storm, in want, in every conceivable circumstance. They saw Him minister to all men-the lepers, the demon possessed, the harlots, the ecclesiastical dignitaries. They saw that He separated Himself from no one-the rich, the poor, the respected, the scorned-whatever their need. By His touch and His teaching Jesus showed Himself to be the Answer. By His friendship and His love, Jesus showed Himself to be a wise, trusted, loyal Advisor.

In all He did and through their connection, He was conditioning the chosen 12. They had the most meaningful relationship imaginable. They were not just hobnobbing with the elite, but right out in the hard realistic ruggedness of life, lived daily with Him. They were rubbing shoulders with all of humanity's woes. It was a real relationship, an authentic jewel. They were not social climbers. Their climb upward was walking with God and grasping hold of as many as possible, and taking them with them.

Mentoring happens in families as well as in friendships. But just as not all friendships evolve into mentoring, not all family relationships evolve into mentoring.

Joy's husband Herschel was a pastor; for 44 years he led, nurtured, and encouraged his congregation. He loved people. He had his priorities ordered in integrity. Bringing out the best in people is a blessing both Joy and Hershel passed on to their children and grandchildren. These traits with which their offspring were born did not ensure the success of Herschel's descendents. Choosing to act upon these skills in a positive, functional, and beneficial way worked on their behalf. The blessing of bringing out the best in people was the result of mentoring because the baton was passed by choice. As Joy and Herschel passed the baton, their children, Tommy and Vickie, took it and ran with it. Now the baton has passed on to all the grandchildren.

When raising my four children, I'll never forget asking Tommy before we moved from Phoenix, "How did all your kids not only come out OK, but be so outstanding?"

Tommy furrowed his brows as he always does when he's about to say something significant, then honestly and humbly replied, "I am not perfect. In fact, I made a lot of mistakes. But I loved them. Luke, Matthew, and Kristie all know that I love them."

To keep it simple we'll start with Joy and Hershel, but this blessing probably extends way back, and didn't originate necessarily with biological family. From Joy and Hershel, extending to Luke, Matthew, Kristie, and well beyond, I'm just one of the multitudes whose lives have been forever changed for the better as a result of their love.

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