Daily Digest #30

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. —John 15:13

When we have a very close relationship with someone, we can't help but expect from the other -- love, time, care, understanding, acceptance... the list goes on and on and on. It is truly rare to find the kind of friendship that fulfills everything that we need. We continuously seek for completeness, usually looking in the wrong places, then we end up being disappointed and hurt because our expectations weren't met.

My theory about friendships that last is this: they have been individually completed by God, and later on have crossed paths and developed a relationship, not because they need each other to complete themselves, but because they grow in each other's presence. We often misquote the words "you complete me", for no other person can ever complete us -- these people are only our "supplements". This might be an awakening for all of us. Only God can make us whole. Our friends and loved ones are merely blessings that He has provided, because He knows we need them in our lives.

For this, may we thank God that we have these people in our lives. May we return the love and care He's letting us experience through them. May we continue to learn and grow from the people we encounter. May we develop a more intimate friendship with God, to whom we can expect everything that we will ever need. Pray always.