The Bible is full of people who have learned from God how to be friends that understand, connect with, admire, challenge, and love each other.
Though Zacchaeus came with baggage, Jesus’ decision to love anyway completely changed Zacchaeus’ life for the better.
Jesus loved the rich young ruler enough to offer him a way out of rule-following by asking him to make a decision to be close to him.
Loving God with all your soul is important; Jesus says it is part of the first and greatest commandment.
We all long for unconditional acceptance and closeness. It all starts with learning to develop intimacy with God.
Once our faith in God is strong, it becomes easy to overcome the temptation to be cynical in human relationships.
