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Influence of Companionship
The power of life over life can be rather startling. There have been a single look of an eye which have changed a destiny. There have meetings of only a moment, which have a left an impression that has lasted a life time. No, one of us, understands the mysterious thing we call ‘influence’. Take how me and my wife met, well, we had gone separately, to a Christian gathering in North Wales. Where there were week long courses on several topics all week. Now I was a ‘green-horn’ (novice newly saved Christian). So attended one teaching you how to pray effectively on ‘Prayer’. On the Wednesday afternoon there was a prayer meeting for both the North of Ireland & the South. I went with a close friend who had come from the North of Ireland, well after the meeting Margaret saw an old friend, whom introduced us to my wife to be, at that moment the whole room went fuzzy except, like a romantic photograph, where I learned her name, but no matter how much I searched the camp I could not find her, that was till the Friday afternoon … One day I’ll share our testimony in fullness … We read that our blessed Lord that ‘virtue’ went out of Him and healed the timid woman who came behind Him in the crowd and touched the hem of His garment, again, when the throng surged about Him and sought to touch Him...
Matthew 9:20/1 “And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”
Luke 8:46 “But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately”
Mark 5:30 “And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
… That ‘virtue’ went out of him and by pure faith all were healed. Yet out of everyone of us continually ‘Virtue’ flows, to either heal .. bless .. to leave marks of beauty, OR, to either .. hurt .. to poison .. to kill .. or stain others lives.
Which are you??
We are all adding to the Worlds health and happiness. Every moment true living .. every victory win over our self or sin or temptation, every fragment of sweet life we live, makes it easier for others to be brave .. true and sweet.
We are always giving out Influence
God must have looked at Adam and though he must be lonely so … Genesis 2:18 “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” .. with God say it is NOT good for us men to alone, .. so much so was God concerned that .. Genesis 2:22 “Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man” .. God had already said that it was good for all the animals on the land and in the Sea’s to have mates so should have Adam a mate, After Adam [man kind] in His own image ..Genesis 1:25 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So our almighty Lord God deemed that our companion should be Male or Female, and not non-binary.
“No stream from it’s flows sea ward, how lonely so over it’s
course, but what some land is gladdened. No star ever rose
and set without influence somewhere. Who knows what
Earth needs from Earths lowest creatures? No life can
be pure in it’s purpose, and strong in it’s strife, and all not
be purer and stronger there by.”
It is that companionships always leaves it’s impress [marks – impressions]. Often one eye cannot look into another’s eye, in one deep & and earnest gaze, but a touch has been left on the other soul. N was the last time you took more than a fleeting glance into your partners eyes?
An impression can be made for life by a single image. My wife and I used play the PC game called ‘Call-of -Duty’, that was till they very graphic, so realistic almost. That was till we saw film footage of an actual war scene, that could have been from the program called ‘World at War’. Showing events from the second World War, there was some fighting, a man was trying frantically to get out of a tank, but the flames were too much, sadly they soldier only made it half way. This image has been burnt on to her soul, to the extent she refuses to play any game like since. Even now the memory of this image can never be washed away, now some years later the image breaks into amongst her most treasured memories.
Some times we truly don’t know what we are letting into our life when entering into a companionship, even to the point of becoming intimate, eve for just an hour, with someone who is not good, not pure, not even truthful. Then comes the debasing influence, until intimacy comes, then friendship, when confidences are exchanged, when soul touches soul, when life flows into, and the blends life
2 Samuel 2:7 “Now then, be strong and brave” [NIV]
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” [NIV]
A Rabbit had it’s foot caught in a hunters steel trap. The poor Rabbit seemed to know that unless it could get free, it’s life must soon be lost. With a bravery which we cannot admire, it gnawed off it’s leg with it’s own teeth, setting itself free, though leaving it’s foot in the trap. But, who will say that it was not a wiser to escape death, even with the loss of it’s foot, or died? If anyone discovers he is the snare of evil companionship of friendship, what ever it cost him, you should tear yourself away from it. For it’s better to enter into a more pure –noble-worthy life with one hand or foot than die. Young people should be weary of toxic companions, for they are like machinery in a Mill, which when you snag you clothing it can very quickly whined in the whole garment, and then pulls your body to a swift and tragic death. Why is it that we can see what’s happening to a friend or loved one being crushed mentally and spiritually, but yet they can’t see it or just refuse to?
There is an old wives tail that says: “That which does not kill you makes you stronger” There is an element of truth in it, may be just may be, they say could be birthed from the following veres ...
2 Corinthians 12:10 “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. [NIV]
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love” [NIV]
Always be of a good & true character that it’s influence of a good companionship that has only it’s blessing and benediction for life. We have had only a fleeting chance meetings, that for just a second, like when ships that speak at sea, but yet have fleeting blessings whose influence shall never perish. There is an old legend about the origin of the pearl. It was said that a Star dropped out of the sky into the sea, then being folded in the shell, it became a pearl.
The Legend
“There was a star, which out of the height,
out of Heaven fell, and was lost oh me.
The beautiful star fell into the sea,
and falling it was folded into a shell,
and the beautiful star became a pearl, in the sea.”
So it was with influence of good lives, words, thoughts, kindly deeds, the power of example, the inspiration of noble things, drop out of Heaven of pure friendships, into the depth of the heart, and folded there and become beautiful gems and Holy adornments in life. Even the briefest moments of worthy companionships, leave their marks, good or bad blessings. Then who can tell the power of a close and long continued friendship, running through happy years sharing the deepest experience, two (2) hearts knit together, life’s woven as one, as it were in a web. There is a poem that asks ...
What is the best a friend can be??
What is the best a friend can be?
To any soul, to you or me?
Not only shelter, comfort , rest with
innermost refreshment unexpressed,
not only a beloved guide,
to thread life's’ labyrinth at our side,
or with loves torch lead on before,
though these be much, there yet is more.
The best friend is an atmosphere
warm with all inspirations dear
wherein we breath the large, free breath
of life that have instant of death.
Our friend is an unconscience port
of every true beat of our heart,
a strength, a growth, where we derive.
Can a friend loose friend, believe it or not,
The issue where of life is wrought,
weaving the separate into me,
nor end, nor beginning, spun,
from subtle threads of destiny,
finer than thought , of man can see.
God takes not back His gifts divine,
While thy soul lives, thy friend is thine”
Our friends are our ideals. At least in every beautiful friends life we see some little glimpses of life ..”As it is in Heaven” .. a little fragment of the beauty of the Lord, which becomes part of the glory into which we should fashion our life. There is a wonderful restraining and constraining power over us in the life of the ones we love. We dare not to do wrong in the sacred presence of a pure gentle friend.
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times“ [NIV]
18:24 “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” [NIV]
Everyone knows hoe unworthy they feel when He comes, with unconsciousness and recollection of some sin or meanness, into companionship of one he honours as a friend. It is a kind of ‘Jesus-presence’ that our friend to us, which we dare not do wrong. George Elliot writes … There are natures in which, if they love us, we are conscious of a sort of baptism and consecration. They bind us over to rectitude, and purity by their belief about us and sins become the worst kind of sacrilege which tears down the invisible alter of trust.” .. He comes as the brightener into life, to double our joy and halves our grief. He comes as the counsellor to give wisdom to our plans, He comes as the strengthener to multiply our opportunities and be hands and feet for us in our absence.
Above our Lord becomes our rebuker, to explain our failures and shame us from (our of) our lawlessness, as our purifier, our lifter, our ideal, whose life to us is a consistent challenger in our heart. ‘friend come up higher, higher along with me, that you and I may be those truest true lovers who are nearest to God when nearest to each other.
