One of my Facebook friends posted how he got "unfriended." I don't know which hurts more, getting unfriended for your opinions and beliefs, or getting rejected when you ask someone to be your friend and you get the cold cyber-shoulder.
There's this subconscious thing we all do when someone sends us a FB friend request. We check to see how many friends they have and who they are before answering the friend request. Maybe this is why Google+ reached a milestone of 90 million users in a matter of months and is forecast to have 400 million subscribers by the end of this year. Google + allows you to keep your friends private. We can share personal information in "circles" rather than blasting it all over cyber-space.
So the big question is, would Jesus be your friend on Facebook?
His first friends thought Jesus was only for the chosen ones and would surely want to unfriend Jesus if you or I showed up on His friends list. That's how different Jesus is - He invites everybody, even people His friends find unworthy. When Jesus first showed up, everyone wanted to be His friend. Then they noticed He used no discretion whatsoever with the "add friend" button. By the time Jesus was put on trial, His entire circle of followers "unfriended" Him. They didn't understand just how much Jesus wants every one of us on His friends list, no matter what we've done or who is in our circle of friends.
If Jesus sent a friend request to you right now, would you accept? Or would you rather put Him in your Google + circle so you can keep your relationship private? After all, the world wants to unfriend Him in our schools and other public places. Adding Jesus to your friends list is risky. Just remember, when you are down and out, the world may "unfriend" you, however, there is one friend you can always count on. I'm willing to risk being unfriended by others because Jesus is my friend. How about you?
2 comments:
I just had the chance to read yesterday's blog - I have to take exception to your comment about the first friends of Jesus. Of all of his friends they would be the last to unfriend if we turned up on his friends list. They all knew how unworthy they were because of their past lives. They felt compassion as Jesus felt compassion for those who needed and accepted his friendship,love and healing.
JP, Thanks for your insight. My point is about the original twelve followers. When Jesus needed them the most, they denied Him. Judas turned Him over to the Romans and Peter denied knowing Him when someone pointed him out as Jesus' friend. And they seemed pretty annoyed about Jesus embracing the prostitute as well as others who weren't Jewish.
In the end, these followers eventually got the message that everyone is invited to be on the friends list.
Thanks for commenting.
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