I would apologize to all my personal friends, but that would be dishonest. I treasure my time with God more than I do with my personal friends.
I struck a chord.
In my previous article titled, “Why Spending Time With God Is So Important”, I made the following statement:
“I would apologize to all my personal friends, but that would be dishonest. I treasure my time with God more than I do with my personal friends.”
Apparently that statement struck a chord with a few people. It is true, however. If I were forced to choose between spending time with my friends or spending time with God, I would choose God.
Let me explain why this is so.
2 Reasons Why I Choose God Over My Friends
There are 2 reasons why I treasure my time with God more than I do with my friends.
You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.
C.S. Lewis/The Four Loves
1.Without God, I would not have my friends.
The first reason I treasure my time with God more than I do with my friends is that without God, I would not have my friends. My friends have been given to me by God as I have been given to my friends by God.
C.S. Lewis once wrote, "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." (The Four Loves)
We like to think we choose our friends. Like Lewis, I am not sure we do. God may have a hand in it more than we attribute.
If I understand that my friends are a gift to me by God as I am a gift to my friends, then without God I would not have any friends. It is my relationship with God that leads God to selecting, guiding, and sending me to others and others to me.
So, I want to spend time with God to learn to trust his wisdom. It also helps me to discern whom I am sent to and who is sent to me.
Sin defined is hiding from God.
Beth Echols
2.Without God, I could not be my-SELF with my friends.
The second reason I treasure my time with God more than I do with my friends is that without God, I could not be my-SELF with my friends.
You see, apart from God, I cannot be my true SELF. Apart from God, I am a sinner.
Beth Echols, a friend of mine, defines sin as hiding from God. As a sinner, not only do I hide from God, but I also hide from others. Therefore, in my hidden state another person cannot really know me as God intended for me to be known.
“I” can only be truly known if I am as God created me to be. For that to occur, I am dependent upon God’s forgiveness and God recreating me into his image. For that to happen, I must spend time with God.
My friends really want me to spend time with God or they may get something, or someone, they didn’t bargain for as a friend.
God Created Us For One Another
God created us for one another. The Genesis story reveals it is not good for us to be alone. We need each other.
The second part of the greatest commandment is that we love our neighbor as our self. We could say we are to love our friends as our self.
For me to love my SELF, I can only do that in and through God. I know my SELF all too well. Spending time with God is critical for me and for those that are my friends.
So yes, I treasure my time with God more than anything else.
