As those I know in my life, (meaning they were let into my bubble), it's hard to break into my circle. My husband is the exact opposite, he will talk to anybody, anytime, anywhere. If you ask Barb, she tells me it took six months, (I don't agree), to feel comfortable enough to talk to her. My husband Doug, talked to her the day that they set foot in the church. I have always in some ways wished that I could be like him, open like a book, but old habits die hard. My mother says I was the same way all through childhood. I took me a lot longer to make friends them my siblings.
As I got older my bubble has shrunk, the people who are around me I know that I can trust them implicitly. I don't have to worry. I don't have a lot of friends that I went to school with, just a few select ones. These are the types of friends that no matter how much time that has passed I can call up as if no time as passed. They get the real me, I don't have to pretend to be someone who I am not. The ones that have pierced my bubble in later years, whether it took a long time to do so, I know I can be real with them too.
Jesus also knew in John that He had someone He could be real with. He knew that John knowing who he is, didn't take advantage of this. John did not try to jockey for a higher position with Jesus, expect miracles that changed his life, or have fear in following him faithfully. Part of me feels that Jesus appreciated this greatly. John 19: 25 - 27 (NIV) showed us how much Jesus loved John, that He, Jesus, declared to Mary that John was now her son, and she John's mother, 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,”27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. What an honor. Jesus didn't have to worry about who was going to take care of his mother.
I like that feeling that I have with the people in my circle. I know that they love me for who I am. I am blessed that they are part of my life and I can be real with them. So if you meet my husband and I, he will talk to you like you have been friends forever, but I will be looking to see if I can be real with you. So can I?
Yours in Christ
Heather
Friend - Israel Houghton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k0EqCDLXFk