A package of scrap metal, with a thin layer of chrome

I am worried. Terribly worried…. My concerns reminded me of a Dutch song from my youth, which was about friendships and how those friendships often amounted to nothing more than:

A package of scrap metal, with a thin layer of chrome. (Het Goede Doel ‧ 1982)

It looked nice; it even shined, but when you looked closer, it turned out to be scrap metal.

I see the same thing in society. People who are full of “bling-bling talk”, but when I look at what they actually do themselves? Barely anything. People say with their mouths that we are doing something, but when I look at what actually comes from the average person’s hands? It scares me. What kind of friendship is that really?

Jesus is my best friend, for what He has is what He gives; oh do you know that I live eternally, even though I have earned nothing? He is my best friend. (CD ‘Jezus Messias’ by Simon & Zo)

If that Jesus is your best friend, then surely you also do “something” for that great friend Jesus? And if you truly understand “what He gives,” “that I live eternally, even though I have earned nothing,” then you certainly don’t keep it at “something”, but you go all out! Full strength!

But… then I look around me… and I see:

• A coffee spot for people who could use some attention, but volunteers to be there for them? Too few, so the initiative is shut down before it has properly started.

Until he moved to another city, I have, if I’m right, had only one postcard from him. (Het Goede Doel ‧ 1982)

• The initiative to distribute food to the homeless stopped after a month. There were WAY too few volunteers (despite the enthusiastic “good idea” when the plan was introduced) and the pledged finances never materialized.
• At that meeting about evangelism, not even 5% of the regular attendees showed up.
• Etc, etc, etc….

And then, I reach this very sad conclusion. Because friendship goes both ways, otherwise it is not friendship.

If that is friendship, then that friendship is an illusion. That friendship is a dream. A package of scrap metal, with a thin layer of chrome.

I am worried about many people who say they are “a friend of Jesus.” Because those people ought to be my friends too. And because they are my friends, I hope to warn them with this blog post.

Because I love them, I say this:

Matthew 7:16–20 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.

I hope and pray that there is one person who reads this blog post and gets out of his / her chair and actually does something for That Great Friend. Stop making those excuses; Jesus looks right through you and sees what kind of tree you are. And when I think about that, I become even much more afraid for many of my friends. #sad #afraid

And for the trees that do “bear good fruit”? This final verse for you:

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Keep pushing for God His glory!