I have recently been reading about the devastating effects of rejection. If there is anything that we find hard to deal with, it is rejection. To be ostracized for whatever reason has led to many people becoming so despondent and seriously depressed, causing some to commit suicide. Rejection has led others to become “loners” and seeking revenge on anyone and not just those from whom they have received rejection. Thus we see the rage and hatred underlining the mass shootings which have been so prevalent in recent years.
Why mention this at all? It just brought to mind how friendship, and particularly fellowship within our churches, is important to all of us. People join groups for companionship and wanting to feel accepted. Some people attend our churches for the same reason. It is a reminder that we need to be the first to extend friendship and a genuine love to those with whom our paths cross. You might be the very person sent to bring another person through a crisis. Let’s not waste opportunities to show that we care. Jesus showed compassion, we should be doing the same.
