I built a bookshelf yesterday. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I assembled the bookshelf – it came pre-made and ready to assemble.
On the first page of the assembly instructions, there was a list of tools required to do the job right. I needed a hammer, two screw drivers, an allen wrench, and a level.
A few days earlier, I started some bread to bake. For that job I needed a mixing bowl, measuring spoons, a measuring cup and a rubber scraper. Oh, and I needed a dutch oven and some parchment paper, too.
How well do you think my shelves would’ve turned out if I’d brought the tools from my bread making venture? What would the bread be like if I’d chosen a hammer and some screw drivers instead of measuring cups and spoons?
Better still, what would either project look like if I failed to use any tools? Think about making bread for a minute: without any tools, I’d have to get the water, without a faucet or cup, add it to a flour, yeast, sugar, and salt on the counter (or is the counter a tool) and mix it together without a bowl. Then I’d need to get it hot enough to initiate the chemical reaction which turns ingredients into a product without an oven.
It is a losing proposition.
God made us for a specific purpose and he gave instructions on how to build our lives and listed the tools necessary to put it together right. On that list of tools are relationships. We were created for relationships that help us to fulfill God’s calling.
And no one is called to be the Lone Ranger.
We were created for good works:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10
We were called for a purpose:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28
We are supposed to work together:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25
Our friendships are vital to our ability to do what God has called us to do. Our friendships were given by God to help us to do what he has asked us to do. We were created for relationships that direct us to God and help us to fulfill God’s calling.
Are you using the right tool for the right job? Or are you trying to build shelves with a wooden spoon?
Friendships are a gift. Friendships are a calling. Friendships are necessary to accomplish God’s work.
C’mon! Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. 🙂
