Tom Hanks as “Forrest Gump”. If you know me, you may be rolling your eyes again. My favorite actor in my favorite movie. Today I’m thinking of the scene where Private Gump and his new friend Bubba Blue report for their tour in Vietnam. He tells Lieutenant Dan in response to his inquiry of whether they were kin to each other, and Forrest replies, “no sir, we are not relations”. Curious syntax, but then again, it’s Forrest. “Stupid is as stupid does.” To quote another “philosopher”, Jimmy Buffett: “Relationships! We all want them, we’ve all got them, what do we do with them?” Valid question. If you have had a failed marriage, a dysfunctional family, or some other jagged line of connection, you can (ahem) relate.

When we receive and accept the enlightening reality that we cannot change the other person, life becomes more manageable. When we are able to look back on a situation, an interpersonal encounter, and yes, a relationship, and say that we wouldn’t change a thing – life becomes meaningful. Imagine if God had given up on us. If He had said, “this one – I just can’t anymore”. Lord knows we would deserve it. A certain tag line from a certain streaming TV series came to me yesterday, courtesy of a Father’s Day gift: “may you always get what you need, but never what you deserve”. Our relationship with our Father in heaven is tricky, wondrous, and never what we deserve. The God who loves us unconditionally is always  working to change our behavior, to draw us back to full relationship with Him. He has all the time in the universe, to infinity and beyond (thank you, “Buzz Lightyear”). He is incredibly patient with us perfectly relating to us, keeping His promises to us.

Our truest friend is Jesus. He bore and continues to bear our sins and our grief. He knows us as we are, understands where we’ve been, accepts what we’ve become, and gently allows us to grow. Thank you, Shakespeare, for that definition of a friend. Our relations with The One will never be broken. It is up to us to gratefully accept the grace that is freely offered, so we can grow and learn from our miscues. You can do no better than to pattern your life and your relations on this sure foundation.

Pastor Art