Having Friends, Making Friends, Being A Friend (1)

GOD said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion."  (Genesis 2:18 MSG)

Some of us slid into destructive and addictive lifestyles out of a desire to belong and have friends and companions. We longed to be known and supported.  We longed to matter.  We longed to be befriended.  We longed to have people around us who would enrich our lives, and, we longed to be that someone who would enrich someone else’s life simply by being together with them.  Loneliness, or lack of healthy friendships, may hinder our ability to maintain a lifestyle free from addiction.  Thankfully, through His word, God gives us instruction on how to live life well, with Him and with one another.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.  (Proverbs 18:24 NIV)

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.   (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)

Christian friendships are characterized by mutual respect and sharing.  They are based on love, caring and interest in the wellbeing of one for the other.  One encourages the other especially in the things pertaining to Christ.  Friends discuss God’s word, pray for each other and build each other up.  They laugh, they weep, they mourn, and they rejoice with each other depending on the season of life.  We are invited to watch the example of those who live a life of peace and Christ focused ministry and put into practice the things they do. 

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  (John 15:13-15 NIV)