Sharing by Joanie...

God has been doing transforming work in me ever since He entered into my life. He is moulding me to become a better friend, and teaching me to love with a sincere heart.

I once gave a testimony about the overwhelming love that I’ve experienced ever since I gave my life to Jesus. It’s the love that I’ve found in God, the new friends, sisters, and brothers that God has placed in my life. Everyone is just so sincere and true. As I learn more about God’s unconditional love, I began to think more for others rather than for myself. That requires the sacrifice of time, money and attention.

Ok, perhaps I should describe a little on what I was like as a friend in the past. Since primary school, I do not have the habit of chatting (catching up) on the phone due to my environment, or to take initiative to find out what’s happening in my friends’ lives. I would call them only when help is needed or when we had to plan for an outing. What we did together as friends was just chilling out, shopping, eating and any other things that requires spending of money. We did not have an intimate time together. So you can guess that I did not have a best friend in particular, but rather many good friends. We were friends because its fun to hang out together.

It was after I accepted Christ that I discovered the lack of initiative on my part as a friend. I was born again into an environment where God’s children shares an intimate time together in fellowship. God taught us to love our neighbours, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. God has made my relationships with friends and family members “whole” as I realized my faults. The only time when we can learn and share about the lives of the people close to our heart is by spending more time with them. This is necessary if we want to grow in intimacy, just like how we need to spend time with our Father everyday in devotion.

Another thing that I’ve learnt:

In Acts 2:46, “Every day they continue to meet together in the temple and ate together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts”

After reading this passage, I immediately repented for the many times that I did not meet my friends with a sincere heart. Was I really having fellowship with them with an earnest intention to know more about their lives? Or was it just a motion that I was going through? Perhaps we can all reflect upon our fellowship time with our fellow brothers and sisters. Let’s all learn to enjoy each others company in the presence of our Lord, knowing that our relationship is build upon love.