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Friends are very important. Life can be very lonely and boring without meaningful relationships in our lives. In fact, the Bible even points out standards and guidelines for friendships which must mean that even God feels that friendship is important. Though we long for friendship, we still must ask ourselves one important question…Are our friends’ Biblical friends?
Are Your Friends’ Biblical Friends?
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33
In order to have great biblical friends, we need to also be a good biblical friend. James 4:4 states: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” We need to make sure that we are lining ourselves up with what God’s Word says and strives to pour out those traits to our friends. After all, we are who we hang around with and people can tell who we are by the fruit we bear and the company that we keep. Here are a few traits I discovered while studying the topic of friends and friendships.
- Friends provide comfort when you are in need: (Job 2:11) We all know Job’s friends weren’t the greatest but hey, they came when he was down on his luck. A true friend is there when your back is against the wall, they are there to comfort you when it seems all hope is lost.
- Friends are reliable: (Proverbs 18:24) Not only are Christian friends called to bring comfort to each other they are also supposed to be reliable. The world is full of shady people, a friend should never be one of them. This may mean that sometimes being a good friend means being a little uncomfortable because you are striving to be more dependable and reliable to your friends.
- Friends are there to help carry the load: (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) One of the greatest things that we can do for a friend (or should seek from a friend) is remind them they are never alone, not in the hard times or the good times. This can be done by volunteering to help them and or being available for chats and prayers. We can’t carry the load if we aren’t willing to get our hands dirty.
- Friends help keep you in check: (Proverbs 27:5-6) We all need someone making sure that we are doing what is best. We need people in our lives that come to us and call us out when we need it most. Please note there is a proper way to do this and it isn’t on social media blasts or the rumor mill in your community.
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Friends love freely and forgive quickly: (Colossians 3:12-14; John 15:12-15 ) Not always my best quality but once a friend willing says they are wrong we need to forgive, we also need to forgive when they won’t admit they are wrong. We need to be willing to love them freely just as Christ loves us.
- Friends help you grow: (Proverbs 27:17) A good Christian friend helps you grow in Christ. They are encouraging you to dig into scripture, be involved in your local church, building you up spiritually and you are so invested in each other you are an unstoppable Godly force.
- Friends are prayer warriors: (Job 16:20-21) Friends lay friends at the feet of the Master on a daily bases. They are so invested in each other that they long for nothing but the best for you and who best to provide that but God?
- Friends become family: (Proverbs 17:17) Friends are always there. They don’t run when things get hard, they stand firm together. They aren’t closet friends or convenience friends, they are family who is there to the very end.
Friendship is a must to get through this life. However, we need to make sure that we are allowing the right sort of people into our lives with the label of a friend and we also need to make sure that we ourselves are being the right Biblical friend as well. I think it is safe to assume we all have a little, maybe a lot of work to do.
Until Next Time Just Keep Soaring 4 Him,
I would like to invite you to my Facebook group Christian Homemakers in Training where we dive into homemaking, motherhood, marriage and group devotions. After all, we all need a safe place to grow together, right?