FriendshipSample

Week 2: What is Biblical Friendship?

Monday: Christ-Centered Friendship

SOAP: Romans 12:4-5, 1 Peter 4:10

For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 

Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

Devotion:

Sometimes we may wish that our friends were more like us—that they shared our same interests, felt the same way we feel, agreed with us about everything—but it is very good news that we are not all the same. We can strengthen and encourage one another in unique ways because we all have different gifts. Someone may have strong faith that another friend leans on when she struggles to trust God. Someone else may understand Scripture clearly and can explain it to her friends. These gifts are not for us to enjoy individually, they are given to us by God so that we can serve one another and be more unified together in Christ. 

We belong to one another, and so we have no right to use our own gifts for solely our own advantage. Friendship can help us stop competing or comparing gifts, seeking the spotlight for ourselves, or diminishing someone else’s gifts. We are on the same team, and our gifts are meant to complement each other. 

Prayer:

God, show me how to use my gifts to serve the body of Christ. Show me how to encourage my friends in their gifts and truly celebrate them instead of competing or comparing. Help us show the world what it means to be united in You. Amen.