18!

One of our friends turned 18 yesterday. I saw her at SAMS with her mother. "Happy Birthday! So how does it feel to be 18?"
"I was just telling Mom all of the things I can do now that I am 18. I can call 800 numbers, be in a porn movie or pose for Playboy. Not that I would! But I can."
So last night we were over at her house to celebrate with some cake. "Tell your preacher friend here what you can do now that you are 18."
"I can buy a monkey, call 800 numbers, be sent to prison, walk into a club, get a tattoo..."
"Now tell him what you told me today!"
Isn't it funny that a preacher holds such a position in people's minds that you can't say some things to them that you say to other people? Preachers joke around, have fun, and enjoy being with other people too, but there is an aura that hangs around them in the minds of "lay people" whether the preacher put it there or not.
I think some people imagine God that way too. They can't tell God how they really feel about something because He wouldn't be able to take it. They can't speak to God because there is an aura around Him that keeps the "normal person" at arm's length.
What a shame. Just as a preacher wants to be friends with others and enjoy the same close friendship that others enjoy, so God wants a close relationship with His people. Try talking to Him today and see if He doesn't turn out to be your BFF.