The Best: Part 1Esimerkki

Prayer: Father, thank you for creating me for relationship. Thank you for the friends you’ve placed in my life who have pointed me and sometimes carried me to your Son. Please show me this week, through your word, how to be the friend that you desire me to be.

Who You Have & Who You Are

As God was creating, He gave each creation a stamp of approval. Plants and flowers: good. Night and day: good. Living creatures (maybe specifically dogs): good! But when God created man and found Him alone, He said something different, “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). From our very origin, we were made for relationship.

Who are your closest friends? The book of Proverbs describes the ideal friends: those who celebrate with you when life is good, mourn with you when it isn’t, and stick around through all of the in-between. If what God’s word says here is true, then we will greatly benefit from both having this kind of friend and being this kind of friend. 

Unfortunately, there are external circumstances and selfish desires that hold us back. It’s difficult to be a good friend when life is hard, so we run. It takes work to maintain friendships when people move away, so we give up. With all the threats against our friendships, we have to strive to defy any cultural norm of “fair-weather friendship” by looking to the perfect example set by our God, who promises that “He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). 

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. What kind of friends do I have around me? Do we share the same values as well as the same interests?
2. What kind of friend am I? Do I commit myself to the work of maintaining friendships even in difficulty?

What’s Next? 

1. Thank God for the Christ-centered friendships you have, and if you feel lacking in that category, ask Him to place more of that kind of person in your life.
2. Think about the ways you’ve been lacking as a friend, and make a plan to change.