THE SPIRIT IN YOU
Christ to anyone I come in contact with.
Two years later, I had a new group of friends that I met at church. Two males who were a few years older than me, Liam and David (fake names). I was in an “on and off” romantic relationship with Liam, and David had been good friends with Liam however over time, I became good friends with him because I was close with Liam. Within a few months, I was spending almost every day with the two of them. We would go to different churches and church groups, get together on our own to study the Bible, pray, or explore God's creation together. Christ was the center of this friendship, and it was really the only thing that we had in common with each other.
Although Christ was the center of our friendship, I noticed that after a little bit of time, it started to shift into being simply religious instead of being about Jesus. David was the one who initiated the change. I began to realize that his heart changed in his reasons for being a committed Christian. He would quiz me and Liam about what we did on the Sabbath, and then lecture us if we had done any work, and that was only the start. He discouraged me to minister in some of the dark places that the Holy Spirit had led me to go. And after awhile, things began to feel like borderline emotional abuse. Before I knew it, I was starting to be around the type of Christians that I despised as a young child and never wanted to associate myself with.
One day things changed. David did not show up for one of our weekly get -
togethers to read the bible. He did not show up to the next planned meet up, or the one after that. He stopped responding to all of my texts, emails, and did not answer any of my phone calls. I could not manage to put any of the pieces together as to why he suddenly stopped all communication with me. He had stopped all communication with Liam as well. “Was I too ‘sinful’ for him to associate with anymore?” Prior to the loss of communication, I had been feeling led to say goodbye to both Liam and David for the better, simply because I did not desire to be associated with those who are so religious that they forget to put the heart of Christ within their journey.
Life went on without Liam and David. I found a new group of individuals to spend my spare time with. Three months
"I could not manage
to put any of
the pieces together
as to why he
suddenly stopped
all communication
with me.....“Was I too ‘sinful’ for him to associate
with anymore?”"