If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. (1 John 4:20-21)

Saturday turned out to be a unique but very positive experience with my longtime friends at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in South Tampa. 

The men’s ministry, after finding an overnight event pretty much impossible to schedule, asked me to lead a four-hour mini-retreat designed to cover essentially the same material.

Consequently, I flew down from North Carolina in time for a good Cuban lunch, then spent 3:00 through 7:15 with 60 guys from a number of area churches – including an enthusiastic group from First Brandon.

Rather than compressing all my material and feeling rushed, I was able to spend four-plus hours with a room full of beautiful people. I made new friends, caught up with old friends, broke bread together, and enjoyed the rare treat of playing guitar with Roger Sullins (Palma Ceia’s gifted Praise Band leader).

What a blessing to not just see familiar faces, but to greet familiar souls. You see, one of the deep and wonderful things that happens when you “do life,” and share faith together, is that you come to know and love one another in ways that cannot be accounted for other than Jesus.

One Brandon friend, Bruce, posted the following on Facebook Saturday evening. It illustrates – for me – exactly why I do this kind of event:

Thanks Derek Maul for a very meaningful message. The two guys I brought were really engaged (one was his first time ever inside of a church and the other has only been to church 3-4 times in his life). They both had tons of questions and thoughts in the car ride home.

Bruce (who blogs at http://www.leftleglost.com) is a missionary/disciple in the truest sense. I’m so proud to know him, and grateful to be a part of God’s initiative into the lives of his two friends.

And that is my brief word for today. It’s Sunday morning, and I commend to everyone the beauty of faith-based friendships. We were designed, the Bible says, for relationship; for relationship with God, and for relationship with one another. Those are not two separate ideas; they are both complimentary and interdependent.

In all truth, the Bible says it is impossible to profess that we love God and in the same breath fail to love our brother. If there’s one thing weekends like this make abundantly clear it’s this: I dearly love my brothers.

– DEREK