What’s In It For Me?

Have you ever had a friend who you only heard from when they needed something from you? It doesn’t feel good, does it? It defies the very meaning of friendship.

Friendship is a close relationship between two or more people who care about and support each other. It is built on trust, honesty, and mutual respect. Friends often share common interests and experiences and enjoy spending time together.

The key words in that definition are “each other” and “mutual”. Friendship is a 2-way street!

Yet many people think of horses as just a beautiful animal that’s fun to ride. When people find out we don’t do very much riding in the ministry, the first thing they ask is, “But what do you do with the horses if you don’t ride them?”

Take a second and think of the assumptions a person has to make, all the things they have to take for granted, if they just rock on up to a 1200lb animal, throw a chunk of leather on it in the shape of a saddle, climb on up and expect to be treated to a wonderful, safe joy ride! And should they get thrown off, who will the person blame? The horse for being a “bad horse”, or the owner for not training their horse better?

We can do this on a spiritual level, too. Assuming that since God is good and He loves us, that means He exists just to grant us our every request, bless us in every way, protect us from ever feeling pain… And when this doesn’t happen, who do we blame? Well, we tend to get angry at God, don’t we?

To see a horse as a riding machine that exists just to serve us and amuse us is right up there with seeing God as a vending machine or a magic genie, existing just to serve us and bless us.

And for the horse and for God, it feels just as bad as we feel when we only hear from a “friend” when they want something from us.

In all these examples, the key component that’s missing is the value of investing in a mutually caring friendship where both parties value and invest in each other! That’s the most beautiful part, is the process of really knowing, experiencing, appreciating and loving each other!

And, just like with people, when we take the time to invest in our horses, they, in turn, put more effort in and give us a more enjoyable, safe ride!

Same is true with God! The more we invest in getting to know Him, the more of His blessings we experience, the more aware of His presence we become, and the more peace and joy we realize in His good purposes!