One of the best features Xbox added before their competitors did was the ability to join an Xbox Live “party” with your friends and bounce from one game to another without ever having to leave the group. But while this was an incredibly convenient feature to keep players together, the truth is not every player was able or willing to move forward with the party to the next game. Maybe it wasn’t a game they owned or wanted to play, or perhaps while some moved on to play Call of Duty, others preferred to continue running raids on Destiny. It didn’t mean that we weren’t friends anymore… it just meant that as our paths diverged, some of our teammates simply aren’t meant to join us on the next part of our journey.

Jesus had seventy-two followers who served as ministers for Him, twelve who were chosen to become His disciples, but only three who He trusted to accompany Him during His most intimate battle in the Garden of Gethsemane. While all of them were “teammates”, each were only meant to join Him for specific parts of His journey. And as we go through our lives, we will find that not every friend is meant to take the next step in our stories with us either, but let’s not become bitter or disappointed when these times of divergence inevitably come. Their destiny simply lies on a different path than ours.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4-5

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. Mark 5:18-20

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Mark 5:36-37

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