Field guide · Terrain · “You prepare a table before me… my cup overflows”
Us with Godand Friends
Forecast: clear skies for coffee, with a chance of long-overdue texts.
Four tired ways to walk
Each has some truth in it. None of them is the whole story.
Under GodSheep that hide from the Shepherd
God is my master, and friends are a distraction from my duty to him.
Over GodSheep that know the way
I’ve read the books on boundaries and networking. My friendships are optimized.
From GodSheep that follow the grass
I keep the friends who make me feel good and drift from the ones who need something.
For GodSheep trying to be the sheepdog
My friends are mostly ministry contacts, and every coffee should be a strategic conversation.
Jesus calls us friends, and he fills our table with friends.
Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants… I have called you friends” (John 15:15). He tells his friends what the Father is doing. He also gives us company for the road. Jonathan’s soul was knit to David’s (1 Sam 18:1), and “a friend loves at all times” (Prov 17:17). Friendship is one of the ordinary ways God stays near us.
Where the Shepherd isHe sits at the table with us as a friend, and he laid down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
Text one friend today just to say you thought of them. No agenda.
Jesus, who have you given me to love, and who have I been too busy to see?
Fellow travelers
People in Scripture who walked this ground before us.
- Jonathan went to David in the wilderness and helped him find strength in God (1 Sam 23:16).
- Four friends carried a paralyzed man to Jesus and dug through a roof to get him there (Mark 2:1–5).
Keep walking
- With God: Sheep that know his voicethe posture every entry points to
- Which Way Are You Walking?a short self-check
- The Field Guideevery entry, by terrain, weather and crossing