Upon first hearing, it was a shock. But it made sense. A wise, old professor of mine declared, "Few people have a friend anymore -- as in you and me. Instead, they have some third thing called a 'relationship.'"
Relationships are linear. A lives in relation to B. The relationship is the line of connection. And there are a host of adjectives and so forth that precede the word. Consider the following:
- Good relationship
- Working relationship
- Dysfunctional relationship
- Abusive relationship
With relationships, there is a distance -- be it emotional or even geographical -- between point A and B. That distance allows for periodic assessment.
But friendship is different than relationship. Friendship is just friendship. You're not out to assess a person you have a friendship with. You enjoy their company; it comes naturally.
We Christians sometimes talk of having a "relationship" with God. God is in heaven (point A); we are on earth (point B), and nary the twain the shall meet.
The preferred word of Jesus, however, is friendship: I have called you friends, He says. He has made known everything to us that He heard from His Father. And there is no safe, "relational" distance either. He says, Lo, I am with you always to the very end of the age.
The title of the hymn gets it right: What a Friend We Have In Jesus!
PD
No comments:
Post a Comment