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In the fall of 1994, NBC introduced the sitcom “Friends”. The show centered around the lives and relationships of six twenty-somethings living in New York City. It dealt with being a young adult trying to live, work, and have relationships in the city. All of this was summed up with the opening theme song “I’ll Be There For You” performed by The Rembrandts.

Here are the lyrics:

“So no one told you life was gonna be this way,
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s DOA;
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear
When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year

I’ll be there for you
(when the rain starts to pour)
I’ll be there for you
(Like I’ve been there before)
I’ll be there for you
(Cause you’re there for me too)

In yesterday’s Scripture reading from Genesis 39:1-23, verse 21 constantly stood out for me. In the Common English Bible it reads, “the Lord was with Joseph and remained loyal to him. He caused the jail’s commander to think highly of Joseph.” The Lord was loyal to Joseph and showed his loyalty by bringing favor to Joseph every step of the way. By the end of Joseph’s story at the end of Genesis, he has been elevated to a place of great honor in Egypt’s royal court.

It is easy at times to think about us being loyal to God. But it feels like a different idea all together to turn that around and think of God as being loyal to us. Psalm 8:4 asks he question “what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” If God have power over all creation and beyond, what are we that God would even care about us, much less show us loyalty? It is a valid question that has been asked for thousands of years.

The great thing is that God has given us an answer to the question. In Jeremiah 31:3 the prophet tells us that God has “loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.” God has shown his loyalty in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul writes in Romans 5:8 that “God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

God’s loyalty to us has nothing to do with anything we are able to do. Instead, God’s loyalty is about God. God has chosen to love us as God’s creation, to love us because God is love. God has promised us that even in the trials of our lives, even when we are struggling to understand, God is there with us. May we rest in that promise this week and beyond. Until next time…

 

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Blake