Friends

    I've been struck these last few months at the importance of friendship. As I've gone back and looked at some of the things that occurred during my thought journey from legalism, one of the biggest things was a friendship that has impacted my life in a huge way.

    When I first began to think back, I began to put together some different things that really aided in my change in thinking back then. One of the major ones was a friend who both quietly and vocally supported me as I began to change my thinking. At a time when I was realizing that my theology and attitude was changing from nearly everyone else I knew, this friend stood by me, talking, listening, thinking, and discussing with me, even about the few topics we disagreed with.

    In thinking about it all these past few months, I've realized just how important that friendship was. I cannot fully state with words what that friends has done for and meant to me. That friend, knowingly or unknowingly, has forever changed my life. My goal is not to present a brilliant theological treatise for Biblical doctrine about friendship. This is simply a practical statement to us young people who are friends and have friends.

    As friends, we have the opportunity, whether or not we realize it, to shape how our peers think. We can be the flippant friend only interested in discussing the last Superbowl or World Series, we can be that half-hearted friend who at least listens to our comrades more interested in spiritual things, or we can be that engaging friend who is willing to talk the hard things and think through the difficult questions.

    I didn't realize this for many years. As friends, we truly have the opportunity to impact our friends. I can name off friends besides the one I spoke of above who have shaped my life into who I am now. I can name the friends who I always knew weren't interested in such things. I can name the friends who found such conversations over their head and confusing.

    This isn't a long post. My goal isn't to overwhelm you into submission. I simply want to suggest that we do more than we've been doing in order to help build our friends up. I can tell you from experience the difference just one supportive friend can make. I wouldn't be who I am without that friend. Be that person. Help your friends. Be there for them in the hard times, motivate them in the discouraging ones, laugh with them and enjoy them in the easy times. If you're friends, true friends, for long, you'll see all three of those times.

    We live in a time where cursory, shallow friendships are the norm. Let's stand against that, and pursue building strong, mutually supportive friendships in our churches. None of us can stand and make an impact on the world alone; but with support and comrades, Christ can accomplish much more through us. That motivation and support is one of the ways Christ gives strength to His children; in fact, it's one of the foundational reasons for the church itself.