Presented by Lauren Stibgen

In this digital age, it feels like our community is giant! Some days it feels like I have a community of a thousand friends. Honestly, if I ever heard from one of you listening today personally, I am sure it would be like chatting with a lifelong acquaintance! I feel the same when someone reaches out via social media or on LinkedIn to connect about our faith or even a business matter. But truly, how many “friends” can we have?

In my opinion, the current workplace culture has us thinking about relationships all wrong. All these different professional groups and networking meetings bring new contacts, but are they true connections? How often are we trading time with a network for true, authentic connection?

I say get small! What do I mean by this? Take a sheet of paper. I want you to write down a list of your deep, authentic connections. These are the friends you pray with, laugh with, cry with. The ones you go to for good, biblical advice. These friends know your favorites in life. The good and bad. You should want not only to receive from them but also to give to them in return. How many are on your list? Can you count them easily or did you quickly fill a sheet top to bottom?

Jesus held 12 closest to him—the disciples. Surely, he did daily life with others whom he was closest to like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but those in his inner circle were fewer than 20. Although Luke says he had a larger group of around 70, this was more of the community around him—think of people who you are friendly with at work or even at church.

Going back to your list, who are your inner, most sacred connections? Who are your 12? Who make up your 20? How can you build deeper connections with those closest to you? Maybe some of these connections have come from work—some could be family, and others from church. Building connections and relationships is important to Jesus, and I want all of you to be encouraged if perhaps you aren’t finding this community and connection at work.

Those of us who are connected in the community of the Body of Christ can be encouraged that God has brought us into his family. Another song for this week: What a Friend we Have in Jesus! Above all, of the friends you have written down on your paper today, write JESUS in big letters at the top!