Unlikely friends

Look carefully in this photo....can you see Allie's friend? He is small and quick and has a blue head. Yep, that's him the blue headed lizard on the left. We came home one afternoon and this lizard was in the middle of the driveway with his mouth open wide hissing at us. We all oohed and aahhed and then got nervous when we saw Allie going towards him because blue headed lizards bite! But the guard assured us that these two were friends. He said they play together every day! I couldn't believe it! Then yesterday she came walking through the kitchen with this guy dangling from her mouth!! I shouted to Gloria who laughed and told me it was normal - she frequently brings him in the house and then plays with him! Sure enough she walked right out the back door, dropped him on the ground and smacked him on the head! They continued playing for quite a long time.

Watching these two unlikely friends made me think about my friends and whether or not I had any "unlikely" friends. That of course raises the question of what would an unlikely friend look like. I decided it would be someone who on the outside looked nothing like me. But then I realized that wasn't enough of a definition. Then I thought maybe an unlikely friend is one who has completely different interests than I do. But again I thought, no that doesn't make them unlikely, just different. I knew that a friend who speaks another language or lives in a different country didn't qualify as unlikely, so who would?

Well the Bible is pretty clear that Jesus hung around with lots of unlikely friends. Unlikely because they were completely opposite from him in what they valued, believed and pursued. Unlikely because frankly they were unliked by most of society. Unlikely because no one else bothered to see them as good "friend" material. Yet in His eyes and in His presence they became different people. He gave them validation as individuals regardless of their choices. He loved them unconditionally and gave them the gift of his time and attention. He stood up for them when others questioned their worth and He spoke truth directly to their hearts as he spent time with them and challenged them to live differently.

Maybe it wasn't the beggars, tax collectors, prostitutes and derelicts that were the unlikely friends. Maybe Jesus himself was the unlikely one. He was the one who was different from everyone else. If he is the definition of an unlikely friend, than I proud to say I have one! And if he is the definition of an unlikely friend than I pray I become more and more unlikely everyday!