Originally posted on Facebook on June 1, 2023.
I’m proud of all my friends who are seeking to live a faithful life as followers of Jesus and in loving obedience to the Word of God. Even when it’s hard. Even when it means fighting every day to trust and believe and live and obey God rather than our appetites and temptations for things our culture celebrates.
“The Bible doesn’t call us to less love than the world. It calls us to more. And love means carrying each other’s burdens, hearing each other’s struggles, witnessing each other’s hurt, and believing together that Jesus loves us more than any other man or woman ever could (Gal. 6:2; James 5:16; John 15:12). It means denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following our Lord—including sacrificing romantic dreams and sexual desires when they are calling us away from him (Matt. 16:24).
“But it doesn’t mean being alone. Whatever our patterns of attraction and temptation, we’re meant to need each other and to shoulder up, like fellow soldiers (Phil. 2:25 and Philem. 2).” – Rebecca McLaughlin (https://bit.ly/3N9qFcl)
I chose to use a white square as the “photo” for this post because a white flag symbolizes surrender. Surrender to Jesus and His Gospel. His Kingdom. Surrender to God’s Word as the authority in my life, not my feelings or the path of least resistance. White is also a reminder to me of what God has said: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18).
Others may be waving different flags this month, but I’m choosing a white flag. I’m choosing humility instead of pride. True love isn’t about me and my needs. True love is sacrificial. True love seeks the good of others. And God is love. Perfect Love, in fact.
“All My Friends” by Joshua Luke Smith
Now I'm proud of all my friends Because life ain't always easy But, they keep holding on And I'm proud of all my friends Because they keep believing that the best Is yet to come I saw you dreaming about life When you was staring at death Saw you screaming at the devil I ain't scared of you yet And without breath in your lungs I saw you screaming hallelujah to the sun 'Til the storm passed 'Cause the best is yet to come And although you felt conflicted and restricted inside You never laid down your convictions To pick up your desires Though you stood in the fire You never smelt like the smoke And you could have made a fist But held your hand out to hope This is your ode to the moment You put your stake in the ground And said that your pain Would not redefine your power And you said that disappointment Would not become the ointment You use to change your wounds Numb your pain and dumb your voice And I saw you scorn the good as the enemy of the best Taking hold of that treasure That is buried in your chest And that cage made of bones There's an ageless gold Only the faithful and the bold and the brave can hold And you dispose of the foes that erode your soul Those who pose like a prince 'Cause they clothed in robes Underneath they ain't nothing but blood, breath and bones Puppets without prose and Pinocchio's nose This is a ode to the moment you discovered you were golden Discovered you were not the understudy, you're the chosen Yes we have been broken but we have not been beaten There's a weapon in our weakness and a hope within our healing So... Life don't always look like when we played outside And it's hard to admit but we got played sometimes And I, I can't deny that we all break sometimes But we keep holding, holding on, oh And I'm proud of all my friends Because life ain't always easy But, they keep holding on And I'm proud of all my friends Because they keep believing that the best Is yet to come
